Amin Riya, Cato Melissa, Rahavi Sasha, Tran Kristin, Lee Kenneth, Lobo Elton, Mill Deanna, Page Amy, Salter Sandra
School of Allied Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.
Pharmacy (Basel). 2023 Mar 6;11(2):49. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy11020049.
Prescription request applications (apps) have changed the way consumers can obtain prescription-only medications. However, there is a lack of research surrounding such apps and their potential risks to consumers. We conducted an Australian study to (1) identify and characterise prescription request apps available in Australia and (2) assess whether prescription request apps in Australia adhere to guidelines for safe prescribing. Three online platforms (iOS App Store, Google Play store and Google search engine) were searched using 14 different search terms. Prescription request apps were identified based on pre-defined inclusion criteria. To determine whether the prescription request apps adhere to a safe prescribing framework, five medications were selected, and their corresponding consultation questionnaires were assessed against the Australian National Prescribing Service MedicineWise A total of seven prescription request apps were identified. Assessment of the prescription request apps revealed that none of the apps provided prescribers with sufficient information to meet all the competencies required for safe prescribing; rather, they inconsistently adhered to the safe prescribing framework. Thus, consumers and healthcare professionals should consider the implications and safety concerns of obtaining medications via prescription request apps.
处方申请应用程序(应用)改变了消费者获取处方药的方式。然而,围绕此类应用及其对消费者潜在风险的研究却很匮乏。我们开展了一项澳大利亚的研究,以(1)识别并描述澳大利亚现有的处方申请应用程序,以及(2)评估澳大利亚的处方申请应用程序是否遵守安全开药指南。使用14个不同的搜索词对三个在线平台(iOS应用商店、谷歌Play商店和谷歌搜索引擎)进行了搜索。根据预先定义的纳入标准识别处方申请应用程序。为了确定处方申请应用程序是否遵守安全开药框架,选择了五种药物,并根据澳大利亚国家开药服务机构MedicineWise对其相应的咨询问卷进行评估。总共识别出七个处方申请应用程序。对处方申请应用程序的评估表明,没有一个应用程序为开处方者提供足够的信息以满足安全开药所需的所有能力要求;相反,它们对安全开药框架的遵守情况不一。因此,消费者和医疗保健专业人员应考虑通过处方申请应用程序获取药物的影响和安全问题。