Technology and Pharmacy Information Systems

After completing this chapter, students should be able to 

Understand the importance of technology and automation in managing the information that pharmacists use in practice. 

Identify technology needs and a process that can be used for selecting appropriate vendors for technology products. 

Describe the functions and purposes of the Internet that facilitate management of a pharmacy care practice. 

Evaluate the need for technology and automation in the practice of pharmacy 

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Organizational behavior problems can arise when integrating information technology into pharmacy practice. These often occur when stakeholders (i.e., employees and patients who interact with these systems) are not provided appropriate training before or after information technology implementation. The intended outcomes of information technology integration into pharmacy operations can occur only if there is... 

These considerations are primarily enterprise-wide in scope. With integration being of primary importance to healthcare in general, it is still necessary to obtain best-of-class software solutions for specific pharmacy activities. Recommendations that will help select appropriate applications and technologies that are backed by reliable implementation, support, and services will be the focus of the remainder of this chapter. Refer to Tables 1 and 2 (used with permission from ComputerTalk) as you read this chapter. These figures contain an extensive evaluation of the current information systems market. 

A survey conducted by the Medical Records Institute in 2002 on health care practitioners concerns with the implementation of mobile technology devices and applications cited security/confidentiality when sending or receiving information and the lack of Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance as primary concerns by 50 and 34 percent of respondents, respectively. Confidentiality and security of information against unauthorized access must be HIPAA-compliant. A number of systems are available that can help a pharmacy organization to remain in compliance with HIPAA regulations. Pharmacists are required by law to use reasonable methods to ensure that protected health information remains... 

About the Author Dr. Mosavin is Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science at Loma Linda University s School of Pharmacy. Dr. Mosavin received a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Kansas, a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Dr. Mosavin has experience in pharmaceutical industry, hospital pharmacy, and ambulatory care pharmacy settings. His research interests encompass economic evaluation of health care delivery systems and the role of pharmacists in these systems (especially as it relates to management of chronic diseases by pharmacists). Another key area of his research is analysis of economic gains achieved by health information technology implementation in ambulatory care pharmacy practice. 

Performance risk is the degree of uncertainty inherent in the procurement and application of information technology solutions that may keep the system from meeting its technical specifications or from being suitable for its intended use and the consequences (Browning, 1999). The most important aspects of performance—those contributing most to performance risk—will vary with the needs and desires of the pharmacy (Barker et. al., 1998). 

Operational risk generally is defined as risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or external events (APRA, 2007 Erickson, 2001 McCuaig, 2005 Vaughn, 2005 Walker, 2001 Wikipedia, 2007). Information technology operational risks in todays digitized pharmacy are characterized by six event factors ... 

External fraud is an act committed by a third party that leads to data theft, data loss, and function disruption. People with technology skills can access (hack) the computer systems of pharmacies to steal or manipulate patient information for financial or nonfinancial reasons. For example, cell phone service provider T-Mobile experienced ongoing security problems that led to the publication of celebrity Paris Hiltons personal information and the telephone numbers of many Hollywood stars (Brian, 2005). One can only imagine the problems that could arise if patient data contained in a pharmacy s database were to be exposed, stolen, or manipulated. 

At a recent continuing-education seminar, Dr. Hamilton and her staff pharmacists learned of the potential for a significant interaction between the two medications in question. She was puzzled as to why one of the pharmacists would have told a physician that there are no drug interaction problems with the new drug. Dr. Hamilton and the staff pharmacists are aware that the hospital information technology department has not yet updated the pharmacy department computer system to include this interaction. As she concludes her conversation with Dr. Brown, she promises to find out what happened and take corrective action. 

Advances in technology can facilitate the generation and transfer of patient documentation. As more pharmacies use the Internet as a means of communication, information can be transferred quickly and accurately over greater distances. Handheld computers and specialty software allow health care practitioners to document information in an electronic format that can be transformed immediately for rapid transfer to others. Reports in the literature have described methods to assess pharmacist interventions related to medication errors, the use of computer-based systems, and recently, the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in specific patient care areas. Many of these documentation systems tend to be individualized apphcations in which the transfer of data to other providers is not possible or quite limited. Often these systems focus on the generation of reports for workload analysis or accreditation purposes. 

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