Woodman, M;
Salkeld, J;
Sharrock, C;
Alice Oborne, C;
Nguyen, H;
Sobti, A;
Goodman, AL;
(2023)
Prescribing in a pandemic: Electronic prescribing aids to improve non-specialist adherence to COVID-19 guidelines.
Clinical Infection in Practice
, 19
, Article 100223. 10.1016/j.clinpr.2023.100223.
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Abstract
Introduction: The evidence around COVID-19 management is continuously evolving. Ensuring awareness of, and adherence to current guidance is challenging. As the second wave of COVID-19 emerged, we recognised the urgent need for better standardisation of patient care in the context of increasing patient load and acuity and the resulting redeployment of staff. Methods: COVID-19 patients admitted to adult medical wards were identified via their positive swab results. An e-prescribing protocol which included five drugs was introduced and adherence to prescribing guidelines assessed via the electronic noting and prescribing system. Doctors’ views of the prescribing protocol were assessed. Results: Following introduction of the protocol, adherence to guidelines improved. The proportion of patients either prescribed dexamethasone or with a valid contraindication documented increased from 85% to 97% and for remdesivir this increased from 60% to 79%. There was also significant improvement in the prescription of ‘as required’ insulin for patients on steroids (26% to 48%) and oxygen (43% to 79%). 93% of doctors surveyed were aware of the e-prescribing protocol and 81% had used it. Confidence in adhering to the protocols increased from an average of 3.3 to 4.5 out of 5 and 93% of respondents agreed that the protocol was easy to use. Discussion: Overall, this demonstrates that electronic prescribing protocols can be effective in increasing adherence to guidelines and doctors felt this was a useful tool. This is especially important in a pandemic situation in which many doctors were redeployed outside of their usual specialties.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Prescribing in a pandemic: Electronic prescribing aids to improve non-specialist adherence to COVID-19 guidelines |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.clinpr.2023.100223 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinpr.2023.100223 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Infection Association. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Bundle, COVID-19, E-prescribing, Protocol, SARS-CoV-2, Technology |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology > MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10184124 |
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