PETALING JAYA: Government doctors say there are pros and cons to the new prescription format.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a surgeon said the new format would be beneficial in reducing patient medication error which was a common occurrence.
“A simple error like the wrong dose, wrong frequency or even wrong medications due to similarities in names (of medicines) can be lethal to the patient. This must be taken very seriously,” he said.
On the flipside, he said this could increase the administrative burden among the ministry’s “already exhausted” workforce such as doctors and pharmacists.
“Currently, only doctors are allowed to prescribe, pharmacists will re-check the prescription and nurses administer the medications,” he said.
Recounting his experience while serving at the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, he said there were specialised nurses prescribing medications which were counter-signed by the doctors through an online system.
This, he said, reduced the doctor’s workload.
“The system is totally online for inpatient and outpatient pharmacy. Thus, it is effective and reduces the medical error to a very minimum level,” he said.
“Imagine, if I were a government clinical doctor who sees an average of 100 patients per day. It would be a nightmare to fill up the required details without assistance.”
He said while including details such as the patient’s full address was useful, it would be more practical to introduce an IT system for physicians to retrieve full patient records using only a name and MyKad number.
Another orthopaedic surgeon in Sabah said there were still healthcare facilities using handwritten forms.
“Even blood transfusion forms are handwritten,” he said.
He suggested the implementation of a patient sticker system.
“The sticker should contain all the required details,” he added.
Another doctor in Kuala Lumpur said the new prescription format was more precise and comprehensive.
“It includes the patient’s key details as well as the medication prescribed,” she said.
“Even having the patient’s phone number and allergy information on the prescription is helpful. This way, we can contact and alert them to allergens that may trigger reactions.
“But having a digitalised system with the patient’s details is ideal. When needed, we can print it out and complete the prescription manually. This saves time and improves efficiency.”
