Evaluating the adoption of e-prescribing in primary care.

The purpose of this study was to examine the adoption of e-prescribing by primary care physicians in Central Vancouver Island. To accomplish this, a multi-method study design was used to compare the ideal state of e-prescribing (desired e-prescribing features in an electronic medical record [EMR]) with the possible state (what the EMR offers) and current state (what physicians are using in practice). The authors found that recruited physicians are using most of the e-prescribing and EMR features available. However, there are several gaps between the ideal, possible and current states of e-prescribing. The authors address the identified gaps through physician-level, policy-related and technology-related recommendations to improve the adoption, design and development of e-prescribing features.