Publication year: 2011
Source: Social Science & Medicine, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 17 May 2011
Aude, Motulsky , Claude, Sicotte , Lise, Lamothe , Nancy, Winslade , Robyn, Tamblyn
The practice of community pharmacists is being challenged by the appearance of electronic prescription (e-Rx) technology. This article examines the disruptions caused by e-Rx technology to the jurisdiction of community pharmacists based on a model developed from work by Abbott (1988). The main disruptions to professional activities were investigated by qualitative methods in a series of interviews with pharmacists and physicians separated in two groups: practitioners who tested a typical e-Rx technology and stakeholders involved in the implementation of this large-scale e-Rx project in Quebec, Canada. The findings suggest that the technology may disrupt the jurisdiction of community pharmacists, mainly…
Highlights: ► The opportunities presented by e-Rx technologies reveal tensions between physicians and pharmacists, and among pharmacists. ► E-Rx technologies represent both a threat and an opportunity to the legitimacy of community pharmacists’ jurisdiction. ► E-Rx technologies may disrupt pharmacists’ jurisdiction by redistributing information between pharmacists and physicians.