The Significance of Technology in Medication Dispensing
Information technology has had a significant impact on millions of people's work life during the last 40 years. Automation in information processing has prompted several businesses to use computer technology. Standardization and consistent terminology and nomenclature use, as well as mass customization, are among the ways to make normal, repetitive and tiresome work more enjoyable.
Using IT, the professionals can save structured patient information, prescribe electronically, dispense and administer medicines electronically, automate medicine handling in the supply chain, and give tools for monitoring drug efficacy and safety. With the use of technology, healthcare providers may deliver better care to their patients, patients can get the most out of their medications, and patients can save money. The point of care medication dispensing has improved a lot with latest technology. See how it works!
Maximizing the potential of existing systems
There are many functionalities that pharmacists already employ in their everyday job that could be offered by the IT systems they already use when determining the IT needs for new working practices.
Every pharmacy use pharmacy management systems, for example, to keep track of medications, dispense them, label them, place orders, and manage their inventory. Many pharmacies, on the other hand, do not make use of all of the system's features, such as modules for patient-centered services like medication use evaluations or prescription interventions, which can be helpful to patients.
Pharmacists should also take advantage of local services like electronic prescription service release 2, which is available to them.
If EPS release 2 is adopted and used by community pharmacists in regions where it is available, it could improve the efficiency of dispensing and reimbursement processes, and the nomination process could help pharmacists gain prescription business.
Pharmacists will be able to make better professional decisions when providing patient-centered services with access to patient record systems. Hospital pharmacists benefit from the summary care record, which is now readily available in many regions and has been demonstrated to aid in medication reconciliation. Community pharmacists may use it in the future, for example, with MURs and other emergency supplies. Pharmacists will increasingly leverage national and local patient record services as they provide more patient-focused services in the future.
The Internet's Influence
Many businesses and individuals use the internet to communicate. Internet pharmacies and the use of the internet to display and distribute information about drugs and health from pharmacies may both grow in the future as internet use becomes more widespread.
Various service providers already offer secure web-based systems to assist improved pharmacy facilities and social health initiatives in the United States. Additionally, the usage of web platforms as a communication portal for pharmacists from various care settings will grow in the near future (e.g. hospital discharge information).
Prescription and Discharge via Electronic Means
These EP systems have been found to prevent medication mistakes and have a significant influence on patient safety by automating the prescription, supply and administration of medicines in hospitals. A well-designed system can reduce error rates, whereas one that is poorly implemented can actually raise error rates.
In the early 1990s, EP systems were first introduced in the US. The Government's Technology Fund, introduced in May 2013, is expected to enhance EP's use in hospitals.
Transmitting discharge prescriptions from secondary to primary care on time and accurately are critical for seamless patient care and preventing mistakes due to miscommunications. The adoption of electronic discharge systems in hospitals has increased recently, with many opting for a "fast win" over a full-fledged electronic patient record system. Inadequate decision support roles and data fields not in a standard format may be problems with these systems. In addition, the discharge information is sent to general practitioners rather than community pharmacists.
Identification of Medicines with Barcodes
With EP systems, pharmaceutical barcode identification has been employed and has been demonstrated to reduce drug administration errors and to increase the completeness of the medication history. Barcode identification of medicines. As a result, health care providers frequently design "workarounds" to avoid barcode scanning at the point of administration because it is an inconvenient process.
In order to fight counterfeiting, the Falsified Medications Directive (FMD), which is set to go into effect in 2017, demands for medicines to be uniquely identified at the time of distribution.
Dispensing via Computerized System
Pharmacy has only recently begun to use robots, since they've long been used in logistics and distribution. The "Spoonful of sugar" study of the Audit Commission, released in 2001, encouraged the use of automation to change pharmacy services. As a result, many nursing homes have now implemented automated dispensing systems. A pharmacy robot can speed up the dispensing process, eliminate errors, and make better use of space in the pharmacy, according to research.
Contact PD-RX Pharmaceuticals to get these amazing benefits of technology at your point of care medication dispensing.
**Disclaimer: The information on this page is not intended to be a doctor's advice, nor does it create any form of patient-doctor relationship