Prescription charts and electronic prescribing systems
The legal record of every drug a patient is given, on paper or on screen
What it is
About Prescription charts and electronic prescribing systems
Prescription charts record what medication a patient should receive, when and at what dose; electronic prescribing systems (like JAC, Meditech ePMA, or EMIS-integrated hospital systems) replace the paper chart with a digital record that includes automated checks for allergies, interactions and dosing errors. Nurses and doctors use these systems constantly for drug rounds, calculations and administration sign-off, and they're a major patient-safety control point in hospitals. The shift from paper to electronic prescribing has been a key NHS digital transformation priority.
What you can do with it
Capabilities
Prescribe and review medications with built-in interaction and allergy checks
Record drug administration with a full auditable trail
Calculate weight-based or titrated doses with system support
Flag missed doses and overdue medication reviews
Generate discharge medication summaries automatically
How to learn it
Learning Resources
Complete NHS trust-provided induction training on the local ePMA system
Take e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) modules on safe prescribing
Review British Pharmacological Society's prescribing safety resources
Participate in supervised practice on drug rounds during clinical placements
Pro Tip
Electronic systems catch a lot, but never let the software's absence of a warning replace your own dose-calculation check — classic drug errors like decimal points still happen inside ePMA systems.
Skills that use this tool
Roles that use this tool