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Swiss parliament greenlights electronic prescriptions

Obligation for electronic doctor's prescriptions takes next hurdle
Obligation for electronic doctor's prescriptions takes next hurdle Keystone-SDA

The Swiss parliament wants to make electronic prescribing and dispensing of medicine compulsory. This is seen as an important step towards greater digitalisation in healthcare.

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On Thursday, the Swiss Senate approved the corresponding amendments to the Therapeutic Products Act in an overall vote – by 33 votes to 1. The aim of the revision is to improve patient safety.

Healthcare professionals will now be obliged to issue prescriptions exclusively electronically. This applies to both prescriptions and medication plans. This is intended to reduce the risk of incorrect dispensing of medication. In addition, the exchange of information between the various healthcare professionals is to be improved.

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However, the patient should be able to request a printout of the electronic medication plan if required.

Translated from German by AI/jdp

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