Evaluation of the use of an integrated drug information system by primary care physicians for vulnerable population.

More and more, many people are taking more than one medication at a time. Few doctors know all of drugs their patient is taking. Not having the right information can lead to mistakes. This can cause serious health problems for the patient. This can be a bigger problem in patients who are poorer. They are more likely to have serious health problems and be taking more than one drug at a time. It can be harder for them to get the care they need. Many do not have a doctor they see regularly, and this can lead to inconsistent care. As a result, they end up in the emergency room more often.
Computers could be used to help doctors give these patients better care. We developed a system for family doctors called MOXXI. It lets doctors look at drug and health information for each patient and print prescriptions. We got information on the patients' health and drugs from the province's health and drug insurance programs. Over 9 months, 28 family doctors used MOXXI with 4096 patients. We looked to see if they used the drug list more when the patient had a lower household income.
We found that patients with lower household income had more complex health problems and drug treatment. They also had less consistent care. Family doctors used the drug list more with these types of patients. This could be a helpful tool in helping give better care to these patients.