The Pharmacy industry had been making strides in technological advancements over the last two decades with activity monitors and applications streamlining the entire process. Gone are the days when you had to physically visit the doctor as you can now connect with them easily via video chat. Easy ways have also been devised for tracking the medicine you have ordered via intuitive applications. You can thus understand that the variety of technological milestones are all targeted to streamline the entire process while improving the overall experience of patients. But the development has not remained constricted to just step tracking and app development. Initially, the tech breakthroughs surrounded reducing paperwork in keeping a tab over medications and devising new means of laboratory management. Lately, technology is finding its way into devising customized systems for checking prescriptions and automating the refill record of a patient’s prescription. Today we are going to browse through some standout technologies. Which has added inertia to the growth of the pharmacy industry:
Healthcare institutions
Healthcare institutions are increasingly opting for computerized cabinets or medication storage devices so that the drug distribution process can be both controlled and monitored. Banking on such a system reduces human error while increasing fill time and allowing pharmacists to bid adieu to all the hassles of prescription filling. It operates in a way similar to a bank ATM and can be accessed only by authorized users carrying the requisite credentials. The biggest advantage of automated dispensing machines is that they can keep controlled substances secure via audit trails and multi-factor authentication. This helps in preventing drug diversion and wastage while improving the safety of patients. Nursing time is also reduced substantially as manual narcotic counts are no longer required at the patient care units.
Tele-pharmacy
Tele-pharmacy refers to the process of utilizing telecommunication for offering both treatment and pharmaceutical goods to patients. As a result, they can enjoy different pharmaceutical care products without having to step out of their house. Some of the services offered are drug treatment monitoring, patient counseling, and refill approval.
Online pharmacies
Online pharmacies are weighing on the wings of social media, email, and SMS to handle client contracts. They are using CRM software to improve compliance while keeping patients aligned with their ultimate health objectives. Some of the areas that are benefitting from CRM integration are sending customized quarterly wellness newsletters, medication refill reminders, etc.
PDMP
A PDMP or prescription drug monitoring program takes your traditional laboratory management to a whole new level by maintaining a digital database that tracks restricted narcotic prescriptions. Health officials often refer to this program for effectively responding to patient queries. PDMPs can educate clinicians, improve opioid prescription and protect vulnerable patients. It has offered massive help to various health care officials in tackling the spread of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Numerous steps have been taken to increase the accessibility of PDMPs like integrating them into EHRs or electronic health record systems.
Conventional pharmacy
Conventional pharmacy employees have more face-to-face contact with patients compared to the ones working at online pharmacies. This is why customer relationship management platforms and digital pharmacy records are being blended with a product information management system for offering a multichannel data repository that can verify and manage the prescription fills for patients. Online pharmacies can gather a holistic view of the medical history of patients along with their changing medical requirements. Ultimately, it becomes easier to manage their inventory to meet the patient’s demands while guaranteeing their safety along the way. Complex analytical applications are also enabled for keeping track of inventory so that anticipatory stock ordering can be done without fail.
Final Analysis
Technological advancements in pharmacy have benefitted both the patient and the pharmacy team while resulting in improved experience and synergy across various stages of administering a prescription. We can only expect further progress in the field of laboratory management and enhancement of the patient’s well-being through increased automation.