Pharmacy

The pharma company will leverage Concerto's artificial intelligence-powered analytics capabilities to gain better oncology insights.

Here’s a look at how the cloud is changing the industry and top use cases for pharmaceutical companies.

Despite the opportunities and the fact that many problems have already been solved, pharma and life sciences are lagging other industry in cloud adoption.

Unsigned prescriptions are now legal when created with an electronic system that is integrated with the New Zealand e-Prescription Service (NZePS). The Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield has approved a waiver for unsigned prescriptions to be recognised as legal prescriptions when strict criteria are met, including the use of an electronic system that is integrated with NZePS. Ministry of Health Group Manager of Digital Strategy and Investment Darren Douglass says the Ministry is working with partners across the health system on pilot implementations to “ensure that processes fully comply with the legislation and maintain patient safety and confidentiality." “The Ministry recognises the opportunity to move to a paperless system in the future, and the waiver for unsigned prescriptions is one step in that direction,” he said. The ePS allows prescribers to generate a barcoded prescription to give their patients to present at a pharmacy. The barcode is scanned, and all the prescription information is made available electronically. Royal NZ College of General Practitioners Medical Director Richard Medlicott envisions a paperless future where repeat prescriptions ordered via a patient portal app could be sent to people’s phones as a barcode to present to a pharmacy for scanning. However, he acknowledges that uptake of the service by GPs has been slow. Rollout began in 2013, and all community pharmacies have access, of which 75 percent are now scanning barcoded prescriptions but only 150 general practices are using the service. Medlicott says that early on there were some sector leaders arguing that because GPs had to pay for ePS, it was not worth it. With a practice population of 12,000–13,000 patients, Medlicott pays $120 a month and estimates savings of around $1,500 a month. Not having to do triplicate controlled-drug forms is a particular timesaver. “It’s really easy, it will save you money, it will decrease fraudulent scripts and you can see whether medications are being dispensed or not,” he says. “It’s a no-brainer. There’s this idea that GPs are business-savvy, but they just see the cost and not the benefit.” Pharmacy Guild CEO Andrew Gaudin says the NZePS reduces a pharmacy’s administrative workload and increases efficiencies in the dispensary, allowing pharmacists to spend more time with patients. “As uptake of the service by general practice has been slow, pharmacies are not yet able to fully utilise the benefits the NZePS system could deliver,” he says. “Currently only 14 percent of general practices are generating electronic prescriptions. It would be great to see this number increase.” Ministry of Health figures show that more than 1.2 million e-prescriptions have been generated by GPs in the past six months. This article first appeared on eHealthnews.nz.

From clinical trials to supply chain, the pharma industry is using cloud computing models in numerous ways. 

Eastern Health has rolled out a new trial across its Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, to help patients better manage their medication after they leave the hospital. DC MedsRec, the community pharmacy-based service for patients discharged from Box Hill Hospital with four or more medicines, aims to reduce the risk of harm from dangerous drug interactions. The trial, conducted in collaboration with the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) and Monash University, will enable eligible patients to meet with trained community pharmacists, who will look at their hospital discharge summary via My Health Record (MHR), along with a range of other medication information on their electronic medical records (EMRs). The pharmacist will then check the patient’s understanding of the drugs they are taking, resolve any potential medicine safety problems and ensure any medication-related recommendations from the hospital are followed up. The pharmacist will also offer to dispose of any discontinued medications and prescriptions for the patient, with the patient's consent. The move follows Eastern Health’s successful EMR implementation at Box Hill Hospital In October 2017, in partnership with Cerner, as part of its Great Digital Information Strategy 2015-2020. ADHA CEO Tim Kelsey said the service was part of a $8.5 million program that trials innovative and new approaches to post-hospital support, palliative care and the management of chronic health conditions using digital technology. “Pharmacists involved in the Box Hill project will be able to access their patients’ hospital discharge summaries quickly and easily using My Health Record,” he said. “The ultimate aim is to ensure patients with complicated medication regimens don’t end up back in the hospital after taking a bad combination of medicines.” Monash University Project Lead Greg Duncan said the trial was initiated as a result of poor medication management during or immediately after a hospital stay, which becomes a risk factor in 28 percent of potentially avoidable hospital readmissions within 30 days. “We know medication errors often occur when patients leave the hospital and can mean patients end up being readmitted – so we will assess the impact of this new service on 30-day unplanned readmission rates to the hospital,” he said. Eastern Health Chief Executive Adjunct Professor David Plunkett said the trial positions the organisation to “provide both excellent clinical care and research,” with real-world benefits. “Community pharmacies from the Eastern Health area will take part in the pilot, with up to 5,000 patients potentially involved,” he said. The success of the service will be evaluated after 12 months, with Kelsey adding that the results could potentially shape future projects, helping patients throughout Australia better manage their medicines. This article first appeared on Healthcare IT News Australia.

The industry has some unique challenges to tackle and moving to the cloud often leads to breaches.

Surescripts’ product allows doctors to tell the patient at the point of care the price of prescriptions along with alternatives, says CEO Tom Skelton.

At Keystone Human Services, the new system offers a much more detailed picture, giving staff better insights into needs, goals and support requirements.

The addition of the medication management technology will give senior living providers and pharmacies more choice and flexibility through a single vendor, the company said.