New systems are enabling pharmacies to provide better resources to their employees, which means customers can benefit from improved service. Number 3099067. “Technology offers hospital pharmacists the ability to counsel more patients, have a greater visibility on hospital floors, and expand clinical roles, but only if we are willing to take a leap of faith and embrace change,” said Timothy Dy Aungst, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the School of Pharmacy at MCPHS Un… For example, expanding your business into telepharmacy can enable your pharmacy to add an additional location where you might never be able to start a full-service pharmacy.. Also, updating your payment process to include mobile pay or chip … In addition to having walk-in clinics located in some of its pharmacies, Walgreens recently partnered with Theranos, a high-complexity laboratory that can perform lab tests quickly with just a few drops of blood. Making use of this data can help the pharmacy provide better service to its customers. They can track patient histories to get a clearer picture of their current state of health. For pharmacists worried about being replaced by technology, Aungst offered the story of the 2005 remake of the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Pharmacists rely heavily on technology to help them do tasks that are often complex. March 2015, Vol 3, No 3 - The First Word. A total of 43.4% of hospitals use computerized data mining to identify patients in … With advances in artificial intelligence and ‘fuzzy’ logic (an approach to computing based on ‘degrees of truth’), and in logistics and supply (e.g. “One could imagine technology replacing people, but we’ve seen the opposite,” said Scheckelhoff. Using technology can potentially create new revenue streams for your pharmacy. One study identified 6.5 adverse events related to medication use per 100 inpatient admissions; more than one fourth of these events were due to errors and were therefore preventable.2 Among serious medication errors, about one third occur at the ordering stage of the medication process, another third occur during medication administration, and the rema… However, many pharmacies do not use all of the av… With technology changing current medical thought and practices, it is critical for pharmacists to embrace the use of technology to expand pharmacy services and grow beyond traditional roles. “If you go back 20 or 30 years before the widespread use of the Internet, patients and providers relied on pharmacists for drug information because we had the information, and they didn’t,” said Aungst. The advances in technology of all kinds, and their impact on the profession, are a serious concern. For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is exploring the development of an app to identify tablets and capsules. “We can sit back and keep practicing as we see what works, while the rest of the field flies past, or we keep up with changes and keep relevant. “We can use technology to leverage our services and functions when it comes to provider status, and I could envision that as a changing nature of our profession,” said Aungst. This makes it important for the pharmacy to identify how customers are finding them, why individuals are choosing them over other pharmacies, and what the business can do to improve its brand. They can help improve patient safety by potentially reducing medication errors. According to the National Pharmacist Workforce Survey, in 2014, 60 percent of pharmacists provided medication therapy management and 53 percent performed immunizations. “If we don’t, everyone else will make the technology without pharmacist input. “These technologies help speed up the logistics of drug preparation and verification so patients get their medications faster,” said Aungst. Get the latest pharmacy news in your inbox. Over the past 40 years, information technology has had a major impact … While this process was once very time-consuming, modern technology has made it easier and faster to process a prescription. Aungst believes these apps could be viewed as a threat to pharmacists. In addition to answering drug information queries, InpharmD collates information from accurate resources to speed up topic searching. Communication Skills & Pharmacy Technicians. Traditionally, this involved a system of inputting the information, filling the prescription, a technician visual check of the prescription, and a pharmacist visual verification. Today, many mobile apps coming on the market are capable of processing drug interactions, performing medication identification, and serving as drug information services. Making use of new tech innovations is helping pharmacies compete in the commercial marketplace, but also allows them to improve the services they offer. For instance, some pharmacies have started offering apps that patients can download onto their smartphones, which let them know when it's time to take medications, when a prescription is running low, and can also let them send a refill request. The pharmacy becomes a one-stop shop because pharmacists have access to medication and lab results, and they can counsel patients and collaborate with patients’ providers to optimize their medications. To some degree, pharmacists are interested in information technology because we can envision it increasing efficiency in our daily tasks and improving our access to vital information. Copyright © 2021 Informa Connect Limited. © Copyright 2021, American Pharmacists Association All Rights Reserved. Pharmacists may work in drug stores, hospitals, clinics and other settings. Donald J. Dietz, RPh, MS. Registered in England and Wales. A phenomenal change is seen in the pharmacy industry where IT has boosted every sector. He feels that technology could pave the way to expand pharmacy services so that pharmacists can do more, but pharmacists need to take control now so traditional roles aren’t eliminated or replaced. “There is no question that these machines are replacing traditional technician and pharmacist roles.”. This means that pharmacists are in an excellent position to not only play a more primary role in treating illness, but also in preventive care. advances in the design, and use of drones), we must be concerned for the future of … Besides enabling a transition in drug preparation and dispensing, technology also enables medication therapy management by pharmacists. “I don’t think any taxi driver thought that they would eventually have competition like this, but there is because someone thought of something different,” Aungst explained. The Impact of New Technology on Pharmacy. How can pharmacists retain relevance in this brave new world? The result: pharmacists will use HIT to positively affect patient care, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the cost of care. Some systems require the techs to check off boxes to ensure each prescription has been verified, increasing efficiency with a simpler system. This site is part of the Informa Connect Division of Informa PLC. For millions of others, it has brought much needed services to their rural or remote locations, where they might not otherwise have benefited from the same services others take for granted. Someone has to verify the drugs going into the machine and the final product, because at the end of the day, someone needs to be accountable.”. In this environment, exciting opportunities emerge for … The introduction of new technological advances in Pharmacy Departments has allowed the . program, pharmacists seeking an advanced position, such as a clinical pharmacy or research job, may need to complete a one- to two-year residency. Individuals in remote locations can fill prescriptions, which will be mailed to their location. This accessibility allows them to perform more patient care activities, including counseling, medication management, and preventive care screenings. He noted that companies that produce medication adherence apps may not even involve a pharmacist or have one on the clinical staff. With that in mind, here are 5 technology-dependent trends that are increasingly making an impact on pharmacy. Technology can have some adverse effects on your health, but there are ways to reduce the negative side effects so that you can still enjoy the benefits of technology… Aungst used the example of Uber’s rise to success to demonstrate the danger of becoming complacent. Become a member today and see what APhA can do for you. When an employee is efficient, he turns out to be productive. The machine ensures that the correct medication is being provided and that the pill count is correct. “We need to make technology work for us. From automation that can fill prescriptions to apps that provide drug information, there is a fear that technology may one day replace many of the hospital pharmacist’s and hospital pharmacy technician’s functions. In two recent articles, Trupti Sarang lent her expertise as a clinical pharmacist. As technology continues to evolve, the medical field as a whole is trying to learn how to adjust to technology, noted Aungst. The bar codes also make it easier to confirm that the right product has been delivered, stored, retrieved and dispensed to customers. Understanding Pharmacy Technology. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) recently surveyed a sample of community pharmacists, finding that 58% consider theft and fraud to be “a serious problem.” All too often, prescription drug inventory management systems and workflow processes lack truly comprehensive security or real-time inventory tracking.Prescription drug security is not simply an issue of lost inventory or fraud, it is also a serious safety concern. By automatically filling prescriptions, pharmacists have more time to spend in patient counseling roles. 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