Pharmacy Technology

Retail pharmacy is being squeezed.

Even as an aging population and expanded insurance coverage under Obamacare propel rising dispensing rates and add to pharmacists’ workloads, they’re being called on to practice “at the top of their license” by filling an ever-expanding role as front-line patient-care specialists and fully engaged members of collaborative care provider networks.

Given the frequency with which pharmacists are required to act as an intermediary between patients and physicians, a recent focus of pharmacy technology companies — among them QS/1 — have been making it easier for pharmacists to integrate into a patient’s care team. At the same time, they are enabling pharmacists to better monitor patient adherence and needs. Drug Store News spoke with QS/1 interface market analyst Crystal Ratliff about how pharmacists can leverage the company's offerings to better provide care to their patients. 

Helena Foulkes, CVS Health EVP/CVS Pharmacy president

The demands placed on pharmacists’ time have only increased as the industry works to deliver within a fee-for-service model, and among the companies looking to help pharmacists maximize their time through technology is Innovation, maker of the PharmAssist robot and solutions. Drug Store News caught up with Innovation VP global business development Doyle Jensen to discuss the company’s role in enabling community pharmacists to better serve patients through technology.

FISHERS, Ind. — Telemedicine company TelaCare is expanding the access of specialty care its users have access to — including pharmacists. The company on Friday announced the addition of pharmacists consultations, as well as consultations with dentists, optometrists, dietitians, sports medicine and alternative medicine professionals, to its offerings. 

IVYLAND, Pa. —  Medi-Dose/EPS, makers of solutions for preventing medication errors, have recently published a white paper, “Bar Codes and Bar Code Scanners for Unit Dose Medication In a Healthcare Setting.”

JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. — Pharmacy automation company Innovation has a new offering for pharmacies. The company’s new PharmASSIST Light-Way solution is a tool for will-call management, prescription order collation and inventory management for retail central fill/mail order pharmacies.

IVYLAND, Pa. — It’s essential for healthcare professionals to follow the five tenets of medication dispensing and administration: the right patient, the right drug, the right dose, the right route and the right time. Within every facility, systems are instituted to ensure these five tenets are observed. Bar codes can play an important role in medication dispensing, helping healthcare professionals ensure they are administering drugs to the right patients correctly. But many people don’t know how bar codes work, or which bar code options are best for their systems.