At 11:51 PM +0200 5/29/05, Karsten Hilbert wrote:
Let's be very precise here and make sure we talk about the
same things:
prescription:
- the database equivalent of the finished (paper) form a
patient is given to carry to a pharmacy
Can we legitimize some (possible) differences of meaning - it may be
a matter of the level of breadth at which to define.
To prescribe is to advise (e.g. a medicine) especially by an
authorized (written) prescription. So at an encounter and its
components (encountlets) we have the possibility of a treatment plan
with many elements. Some will be simple things the patient can do by
themselves e.g. lifestyle change, over-the counter medicine which do
not require any "authorization" by the doctor. Yet we can argue a
value to being able to print the entirety of a patient's current
treatment plan *including* those things that do not require the
doctor's authorization. Yes?
However we *can* constrain "prescription" to mean those parts of a
treatment plan that require authorization by a doctor, yes? And
physiotherapy can be a good example of a treatment for which the
physiotherapist (and/or financially responsible health payer) may
require authorization i.e. a prescription.
So though when we talk about "prescription" we typically mean *drug*
prescription we really should be specifying *drug* prescription
because there are non-drug prescriptions that need to be supported.
So far we have a hierarchy of
- treatment plan elements
- treatments that the patient can do on their own
- can include non-prescription drugs!
- can of course include non-drugs
- treatments that require a "prescription" (doctor authorization)
- non-drug items
- drug items
I am spawning an offshoot thread
"Treatment plans more generally".
We will be interesting to see whether we resolve the authorization
(prescription) non-drug items in this "prescription" thread.
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