Computer aided prescribing: Software needs to take account of how doctors prescribe

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7455.1565-b

BMJ 2004;328:1565 (26 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7455.1565-b

Letter

Computer aided prescribing

Software needs to take account of how doctors prescribe

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Ferner's article is a rational appraisal of computeraided prescribing.¹ Such prescribing has great potential butif the software is designed without knowledge of how doctorsprescribe it won't be used effectively. The old "garbage in,garbage out" rule still applies.

I receive computer generated letters from pharmacy benefit managersor consultant companies almost daily, telling me what I am doingwrong on the basis of their incorrect data. Last month I wasscolded for not giving one of my diabetic patients ramipril(she has been taking it for three years).

I spent my residency years using an electronic record systemthat flagged almost everything conceivable. For example, prescribingany drug to a patient who had ever been prescribed a wheelchairor a cane produced a warning of a potential unknown interactionbetween "wheelchair" and "penicillin." Perhaps each user couldbe allowed to set a certain level for . . . [Full text of this article]

Anthony N Glaser, private practitioner of family medicine

108 Scott Court, Summerville, SC 29483, USA tonyglaser@mindspring.com