Pharmacy Technology

When health system pharmacies use pharmacy technology, the opportunity for improved healthcare and accuracy can take leaps and bounds. With new capabilities, three amazing goals can be met: improving the experience of the patient, increasing the health of communities, and reducing the per capita cost of care. Explore the ways you can meet and exceed these goals. 

How to Use Pharmacy Technology to Improve the Experience of Your Patients

Your patients might not receive a direct benefit of pharmacy technology, but their experience can be improved nonetheless. When pharmacy technology is utilized appropriately, the patient wins more time with the pharmacist. They can have ample time to discuss clinical care, their products, etc. 

Consider the amount of time spent on things like entering patient data, filling prescriptions and dispensing medications. Without technology, these activities can be completely time-consuming. Pharmacy technology allows for these mundane tasks to be streamlined and automated. Additionally, consider the time saved when data like drug information, dosage alerts and medical histories are stored in one simple and extremely accessible place. Accuracy also becomes noticeable at this point. 

A great example of how technology provides a great patient experience is with programs that allow prescription drugs to be delivered to the patient before they are discharged. These are sometimes called “meds to beds” programs. Since studies show that on average around 20 percent of new medications go unfilled, there is definitely room for improvement.

Pharmacies can now intervene before the patient even leaves the hospital. This has amazing benefits. Now the patient does not need to make a trip to your pharmacy physically and bedside deliveries offer another opportunity for patient counseling to ensure they understand their medication instructions. It is a huge win-win. 

How Pharmacy Technology Enhances the Health of the Community

Face-to-face contact is the best form of improved clinical outcomes for individual patients. The direct contact increases the likelihood the patient will adhere to taking their medication(s) and as prescribed to do.

When pharmacy technology is implemented, clinical outcomes for patients in the community can continue to be enhanced. Here are three ways technology can do this:

• Pharmacy management systems have the capacity to alert the pharmacy staff when a patient has not filled or refill their prescription in a timely manner. This becomes an instant opportunity for pharmacy staff to check on their patient and find out what is preventing them from obtaining a refill. The patient could be incorrectly taking their medication or unsure that they need a refill. At this point, barriers with adherence can be broken and gaps filled in.
• Pharmacy technology can also alert the pharmacist to a patient with chronic illnesses or targeted disease states. These alerts can then be used to add another layer of security for the patient. The pharmacist can ensure the medication being processed is not contraindicated for this patient. The benefit of technology in this situation is a huge benefit that the patient may never realize they are receiving.
• Lastly, consider the ability of technology to travel to satellite locations. This is a huge convenience for the patient and an additional way to ensure the health of the community. When your pharmacy management system can reach outside of the physical four walls of your pharmacy and get a prescription filled and delivered to a satellite location, all parties win.

How Pharmacy Technology Reduces Per Capita Cost of Care

When healthy people stay healthy, costs should drop. As technology improves clinical outcomes and the overall health of a community improves, the cost is bound to improve. Even those with chronic illnesses should be staying at optimal health with the intervention of technology. This in turn reduces the need for higher-cost medical interventions. 

In addition, there are three ways that directly affect the health care cost by using pharmacy technology. Here are three ways in which pharmacy technology can reduce costs:

• Workflows: Pharmacy technology is a great tool for prioritizing tasks, thus creating optimum workflows. 
• Inventory Management: When the formulary is managed properly through technology, you get for example a flag for a lower-cost alternative medication that provides big savings for both the patient and pharmacy. 
• Dispense and fill: When pharmacy technology is paired with a dispensing device, manual counting can be reduced. This is a huge time saver and in the end, a way to reduce the price per prescription cost. 

Final Thoughts

It is easy to see how these three goals can be met through pharmacy technology. It is not just your pharmacy that saves money and improves accuracy, but your patients can receive the best care and compliance efforts unlike ever before. Freeing up time is essential for pharmacies to thrive and these goals of pharmacy technology can do just that.