Patients satisfied with e-prescribing in Sweden: A survey of a nationwide implementation

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate Swedish patients' attitudes towards e-prescribing, including the transfer of e-prescriptions, electronic storing of prescriptions and mail-order prescriptions. Methods: This study was a nationwide survey of attitudes among Swedish patients and was conducted as a postal questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed for the purpose of this study and aimed to evaluate respondents' views concerning e-prescribing, electronic storing of e-prescriptions and mail-order prescriptions from aspects including safety, personal benefits and effectiveness. A study population of 1500 individuals meeting the inclusion criteria was randomly selected from a database of individuals in Sweden storing prescriptions electronically (n=5840599).The response rate was 52% (739/1429). Key findings: The vast majority of the respondents had a positive attitude towards e-prescriptions (85%, 628/739) and electronic storing of prescriptions (86%, 633/739), and regarded e-prescriptions to be safe (79%, 584/739), creating benefits for them (78%, 576/739) and promoting faster dispensing (69%, 512/739). Significant differences in attitudes towards e-prescriptions and electronic storing of prescriptions were detected between age groups. Patients storing all their prescriptions electronically had a more positive attitude towards both e-prescriptions and electronic storing of prescriptions compared to patients who stated they had paper prescriptions. The most common suggestion (n=27) for improvement was to extend the information given about the services. Conclusion: Our nationwide survey showed that a vast majority of Swedish patients had positive attitudes towards e-prescriptions and electronic storing of prescriptions. However, a need for extended information regarding e-prescribing was identified. © 2011 The Authors. JPHSR © 2011 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.