MEDIA RELEASE
30 August 2011
Community pharmacists welcome improvements to prescribers’ software
Changes made by Medtech Global to its prescribing software will help reduce prescription errors and enhance patient
safety, says the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand.
Guild Chief Executive, Annabel Young, says the improvements will be evident in the new Release 20 software that Medtech
is planning on making available from October this year.
Ms Young says the changes have come out of a lengthy consultation between Medtech and pharmacists and she especially
wanted to thank Board member, Graeme Blanchard, for his work on this project.
She says the changes signalled by Medtech are the result of the company’s willingness to engage with the community
pharmacy sector to improve prescribing safety.
“They include some failsafe measures that prevent prescriptions being printed or delivered if they have not been
completed accurately. This will save both doctors and pharmacists time and ensure errors are reduced.”
Medtech is the largest provider of Practice Management System technology in New Zealand primary healthcare. Its services
include prescribing software used by GPs, specialists, dentists and midwives.
Some of the changes made include:
• when a new prescription with a zero quantity or an empty dosage is saved, a pop-up screen will be displayed asking the
user if they wish to continue
• when a user attempts to print a prescription for a controlled drug, a pop-up screen will be displayed informing the
user that controlled drug prescriptions cannot be computer generated
• when a prescription with no instructions is saved, a pop-up screen will be displayed, informing the user that no
instructions have been issued for this prescription.
“The Guild acknowledges that there is more work to be done but sees the changes as a welcome start,” said Ms Young.
ENDS