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The total number of electronic so called “white” prescriptions issued through National Health Information System (NHIS) has exceeded 7,125 million. Nearly 6 million of them, or more than 83%, are for antibiotics, while the rest are for diabetes medications. Data analysis from the platform shows that nearly 4,5 million “white“ prescriptions for antibiotics have been issued since 1 April 2024, when prescriptions for antibacterial medicines for systemic use became fully electronic. Almost half of them allow for substitution with an equivalent drug.
In the last month alone, when some regions in Bulgaria declared an influenza epidemic, over 630,000 antibiotic prescriptions were issued electronically. The highest number of “white” prescriptions was issued on January 27, 2025 - 38,558, which is a record since the system was launched. For comparison, in January 2024, the number of prescriptions generated for antibiotic treatment was only 189,000, but at that time, a large part of the prescriptions were paper-based.
"The electronically issuance of “white” prescriptions has dramatically reduced the uncontrolled use of antibiotics, increased supervision over their prescription and dispensing, and reduced stockpiling" stated Boris Kostadinov, Director of "Software Integration" at Information Services. According to him, the digitization of the process limits self-medication by some patients and helps health authorities in the fight against antibiotic resistance, which is a serious problem not only in Bulgaria but worldwide.
Over 1,323 million white prescriptions have been generated through the eRx mobile application and the total number of medical professionals who have prescribed antibiotics has exceeded 30,000. Canceled “white” prescriptions are only about 2% of the total generated through NHIS, which means that medical professionals are successfully handling electronic prescriptions and have no problems with the digitization of the process.
Data analysis shows that electronic white prescriptions are mainly used for prescribing antibiotics or diabetes treatment. Other medicinal and non-medicinal products are prescribed on paper or are given instructions verbally to patients, resulting in a lack of data in the NHIS. "If medical specialists prescribe all medicinal and non-medicinal products electronically, as per provided opportunity, this would provide more information in the system, which would be useful not only for patients but also for doctors and health authorities," said Boris Kostadinov.