E-Prescription: A practical application of information and communications technology in perspective of Bangladesh

Abstract

The healthcare management authorities are responsible for delivering convenient services to the patients. The traditional healthcare management system is quite old and impractical in many cases, including a physical visit. Additionally, the COVID-19 epidemic makes the existing system unattainable, which creates an uncomfortable situation for visiting doctor's chambers that is risky both for doctors and patients. An electronic-prescription (e-prescription) management system can switch the existing one to the online appointment and doctor consulting system. Many developed countries have already adopted such e-prescription management systems, although low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) like Bangladesh are apathetic. So implementing e-prescription management systems in all countries, including Bangladesh, is the demand of time, especially when information and communication technologies (ICT) are at hand. We design, develop and test an ICT-based online doctor and patient management system utilizing the latest software and web development tools. In the developed e-prescription management system, the patient can visit their profile to make an appointment according to their need and doctor's availability. After that, the patient consults with the doctor based on the appointment's approval by the admin panel. Finally, the patient receives an online e-prescription and collects the medicine from a registered pharmacy with access to the online e-prescription. The e-prescription management system records patient history, including e-prescription, making handling patients easy. The proper use of the developed e-prescription management system will solve many existing problems of the existing healthcare management system, including many concerns that arise due to the advent of COVID-19.