TY - JOUR T1 - A survey exploring National Health Service ePrescribing Toolkit use and perceived usefulness amongst English hospitals JF - BMJ Health & Care Informatics SP - 247 LP - 251 DO - 10.14236/jhi.v24i2.905 VL - 24 IS - 2 AU - Kathrin Cresswell AU - Ann Slee AU - Aziz Sheikh Y1 - 2017/04/01 UR - http://informatics.bmj.com/content/24/2/247.abstract N2 - Background There is currently limited guidance for hospitals to implement ePrescribing systems and we have developed an ePrescribing Toolkit designed to support ongoing implementation, adoption and optimisation of efforts. This work was part of an independent evaluation of the introduction of ePrescribing systems into National Health Service (NHS) England, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).Aim To investigate the perceived usefulness, reported use and areas for further development of the Toolkit by ePrescribing implementers in English hospitals.Methods Questionnaire-based survey of hospitals that has or is interested in implementing ePrescribing systems.Results We received responses from a total of 78 individuals representing 49 English NHS Trusts (out of 82 different Trusts who were emailed the survey, 60% response rate). The overwhelming majority of respondents (92%) were familiar with the ePrescribing Toolkit and 66% reported using it to guide their ongoing implementation efforts. The majority of ePrescribing Toolkit users (85%) viewed it as a helpful resource. Implementers particularly valued the case studies describing lessons learnt from hospitals that had already implemented ePrescribing systems. Suggestions for improvement included more information in relation to the progress of hospitals implementing systems, the names of key contacts in these sites, a list of available systems and the contact details of ePrescribing vendors. Respondents also highlighted the need for more information on optimisation and specialist prescribing.Conclusions Interactive elements and learning lessons from early adopter sites that had accumulated experiences of implementing systems were viewed as the most helpful aspect of the ePrescribing Toolkit. The Toolkit now needs to be further developed to facilitate the continuing implementation/optimisation of ePrescribing and other health information technology across the NHS. ER -