TECHNOLOGY

Effects of Technology in Pharmacy Industry

LIBR 1008 Basic Information Report

[Your name here]

2012

Introduction1

Method1

Results1

Electronic health record1

Network pharmacies1

Electronic prescribing2

Delivery tracking2

Single sign-on (SSO)2

Discussion2

Conclusion3

References4

Introduction

Technology has become an integral part of society and it is impossible to imagine practice of any discipline without technology implementation. Pharmacy practice is also influenced by information technology which is also called health information technology. There are many forms of technology which influence the pharmacy practice among which few are discussed in this paper. The paper follows qualitative method for research in which different sources were studied. The discussion part gives a holistic view of technology effects on pharmacy practice. These sections are followed by the conclusion in which whole essence of the report is summarized.

Method

This research paper is written under the paradigm of phenomenology and conducted through qualitative method. In this research, different journals and books were studied and their information was analysed through thematic analysis. During this research emergence of common yet efficient technologies in pharmacy practice were observed and presented in this research. The qualitative method suits this kind of research because the paper is intended to disclose the effects, role and influence of technology on pharmacy practice which could be investigated through different works conducted priory by different scholars.

Results

The use of automation and technology to provide support to pharmacy practices is not a new concept rather it dates backs to the 1970s era and since then it has been implemented very frequently. Use of technology in pharmacy is inevitable because the role of a pharmacist for direct patient care provision is optimized by it. Demand on accuracy, efficiency and safety in medication is increasing with the course of the time by regulatory authorities, healthcare professionals, manufacturers and also consumers. This increase in concern has resulted in a major growth of use of health information technology in pharmaceutical industries. Though there are many types of technology are used to optimize pharmacy practice around the world but the most effective and widely used are presented below (Siska and Tribble, 2011 1116-1126).

Electronic health record 

The lack of accurate information about patients in a timely manner may result in potentially fatal errors, the prescription of unnecessary and expensive testing and compromise the overall quality of care (Blumenthal &Tavenner, 2010, pp. 501-4). Systems in health care today, the patient information is scattered across many different paper and electronic systems, and creating an aggregated view of history of a patient is possible only after lengthy and costly efforts.

Network pharmacies

The Pharmacy Network is an information system that contains drug profiles and links all pharmacies in the province. Since the network includes information on drugs that are administered and that in all pharmacies, it allows pharmacists to better identify drug interactions reactions and side effects. It also allows pharmacists to ensure that your medication will provide optimal results, you enjoy and care improved health. The information contained in the pharmacy network facilitates also planning and managing care system Provincial Health to better meet your needs. In some cases, this system will be accessed for ...