Introduction:  Electronic prescribing provides more accurate treatment decision-making and reduces medical errors by improving access to patient information. This study aimed to examine the impact of electronic prescribing on the pattern of health service utilization prescribed by general practitioners and specialists covered by the Social Security Organization in Kermanshah city, Iran.
Materials & Methods: This descriptive–analytical study was conducted using an interrupted time series analysis. Data related to indicators of the number of visits, drug prescriptions, laboratory services, and imaging services provided by general practitioners and specialists were collected for the period from April 2019 to the end of February 2024. The data were analyzed using STATA software to assess the immediate and long-term changes resulting from the implementation of electronic prescribing. To avoid spurious regression, statistical tests such as the Dickey–Fuller unit root test were applied.
Results: After the implementation of e-prescribing, referrals to specialists increased by an average of 31.74% and to general practitioners by 17.43%; the immediate change in general practitioners was not significant (P=0.11). Prescriptions for specialists increased by 5.8% and 13% for general practitioners. Laboratory and imaging services also increased by 10.4% and 60% for specialists and 8.6% and 14.5% for general practitioners, respectively.
Conclusion: Although small changes in the number of visits, pharmaceutical items, and paraclinical services were observed, these changes alone do not indicate an improvement or decline in the quality of prescribing. In the long term, electronic prescribing is expected to foster more rational prescribing by increasing transparency, standardization, and closer monitoring; the final evaluation requires examining indicators of quality and appropriateness of prescribing.