Operational rules for the implementation of INN prescribing.

Purpose: The aim is to describe the process, principles and results of the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) prescribing project in Belgium. The purpose of this project was to operationalize electronic INN prescribing for outpatient care in daily medical practice and to develop a factual database which can be used in electronic INN prescribing applications.

Methods: The operationalization process consisted of three phases: (1) expert consultation, (2) review by regulatory authorities and (3) test phase with stakeholders and end-users.