Key Features That Power Workflow Efficiency Here’S What the System Vendors and Users Have to Say
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Key Features that Power Workflow Efficiency Here’s what the system vendors and users have to say. story begins on page 13 Flip the Pharmacy Telepharmacy The New Normal 8 The New Direction for 31 The Potential 35 COVID-19’s Impact Pharmacy Benefits on Pharmacy How Vendors Aremay/june Meeting 2020 Pharmacy computer Needstalk During a Crisis 1 ® Be like Miral- frameworkltc.com 412-492-9841 [email protected] Save valuable time without losing valuable space. Do you need affordable and reliable tabletop counting technology but lack counter space? The RM1™ is a compact, vision-based tabletop counting system perfect for growing or space-limited pharmacies. The RM1 quickly and accurately counts solid oral medications, has an easy-to-clean surface and saves you valuable time without taking up scarce counter space. Less than 8 inches tall and lightweight at only six pounds, the RM1 packs efficiency and affordability into one powerful and portable automated counting system. See the future of pharmacy automation and what it can do for you. Visit rxmedic.com or call 800.882.3819. “It definitely improves our workflow efficiency and it’s very easy to use. We’ve tried other counters in the past and they didn’t work well for us. The RM1 works and it’s a great value. We have seven, one for each of our locations.” Miral Patel, RPh – Owner, Curlew Pharmacies, Clearwater, FL We’re here for you There are a lot of unknowns in the world right now. But one thing is certain — we still have patients to serve. SoftWriters is proud to support the nation’s leading long-term care pharmacies on the front lines, while serving millions of vulnerable American citizens each day. And while we may not know what tomorrow may look like, we’ll be here for you no matter what. 2 may/june 2020 computertalk © 2020 SoftWriters, Inc. © 2020 RxMedic Systems, Inc. RxMedic is a registered trademark and RM1 is a trademark of RxMedic Systems, Inc. RxMedic Systems, Inc. is a subsidiary of the J M Smith Corporation. ComputerTalk Ad SOFTWRITERS FrameworkLTC Apr.indd 1 4/29/2020 4:35:06 PM ® frameworkltc.com 412-492-9841 [email protected] We’re here for you There are a lot of unknowns in the world right now. But one thing is certain — we still have patients to serve. SoftWriters is proud to support the nation’s leading long-term care pharmacies on the front lines, while serving millions of vulnerable American citizens each day. And while we may not know what tomorrow may look like, we’ll be here for you no matter what. © 2020 SoftWriters, Inc. 1 ComputerTalk Ad SOFTWRITERS FrameworkLTC Apr.indd 1 4/29/2020 4:35:06 PM ® May | June 2020 The intersection of technology and management. features Key Features that Power 8 Flip the Pharmacy: A Fundamental Change for Community Pharmacy by Ed Vess, R.Ph. Director, Pharmacy Professional Workflow Efficiency Affairs, RedSail Technologies Aiming to transform e polled system community-based pharmacies, vendors and Flip the Pharmacy is a W practice model that moves users to find out from a dispensing-centric to which features a patient-centric pharmacy model. and applications increase 10 The Sudden Rise of Telehealth by Paul Baldwin, Principal, operating efficiency. Baldwin Health Policy Group story begins on page 13 Suddenly the slow but steady growth in telehealth by the ComputerTalk has been upended by an editorial staff unprecedented demand for services with the coronavirus. What will be the effect on * telehealth in the United pharmacy forward States? Focus on COVID-19 Response 28 Simple Technology Fits Today’s Urgent Needs departments The response to COVID-19 has caused many pharmacy managers to 4 Publisher’s Window divert staff, money, and energy as their pharmacies have seen spikes in Staying Connected prescription volume. In this case study, two pharmacies found that adding 6 Industry Watch counting technology by Kirby Lester was a simple solution. 31 Technology Corner 29 Keeping It Personal While Keeping Safe: Pandemic Response and Telepharmacy During the Your Pharmacy POS System COVID-19 Pandemic by Brad Jones, President and CEO, Retail Management Solutions and Beyond The stability in the pharmacy/patient interaction, so important to pharmacy, 33 Viewpoints has changed quickly due to the unprecedented situation of the COVID-19 CCPA: Requirements and pandemic. Here are three ways to keep patients and staff safe while allow- Consequences ing pharmacists to remain the ingredient that makes pharmacy personal. 35 Catalyst Corner 30 Meeting Pharmacy Purchasing Needs During a Crisis Welcome to the “New Normal” by Mike Sosnowik, President, PharmSaver Sign up for our weekly The evolution in technology and market pressures have spurred the rise eNewsletter at of analytic purchasing pharmaceutical platforms. The new multiwholesaler www.computertalk.com/enews-signup/ platform approach offered by PharmSaver automates the ability to shop for the best inventory opportunities, saving time and money. *Sponsored Content 2 may/june 2020 computertalk Not All Pharmacy Systems are Created Equal WERE YOU PREPARED FOR CRISIS? PioneerRx prepares its pharmacies to thrive - no matter the changing conditions. With a strong foundation of robust, yet agile software, your pharmacy can be ready for any situation. During this pandemic, PioneerRx has equipped pharmacies to adapt workflow to operate more efficiently and better serve patients. Electronic patient education with video for all customers Best practices guide for curbside, drive-thru, and delivery workflow Two-way SMS / MMS patient communication in workflow Photo and GPS delivery confirmation to eliminate signature capture System notification of orders in process without a credit card on file Request Demo: 866.201.8958 PIONEERRX.COM may/june 2020 computertalk 3 publisher’s window for the Pharmacist www.computertalk.com Volume 40, No. 3 May/June 2020 Bill Lockwood STAFF Chairman | Publisher Bill can be reached at William A. Lockwood, Jr. Chairman/Publisher [email protected] Maggie Lockwood Vice President/Director of Production Staying Connected Will Lockwood WITH THE COUNTRY IN A STATE OF HOME confinement due to the COVID-19 Vice President/Senior Editor pandemic, we can be thankful for the technology we enjoy and use on a daily basis. The Toni Molinaro virtual office has allowed many businesses to continue operating, albeit not in a normal Administrative Assistant sense. In healthcare we have seen where telemedicine has come into vogue. There has Mary R. Gilman been a surge in the use of telemedicine in order to keep patients connected with their Editorial Consultant physicians. The April 20 issue of Barron’s had an article titled “Medicine’s Next Revolution ComputerTalk (ISSN 0736-3893) is Is Digital.” The article states that the Cleveland Clinic saw virtual-care visits jump to 60,000 published bimonthly by Computer- a month from just 3,000. Can you imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have the Talk Associates, Inc. Please address technology that we have become so dependent upon? all correspondence to ComputerTalk Associates, Inc., 492 Norristown State and federal regulations on the use of telemedicine have been relaxed in light of the Road, Suite 160, Blue Bell, PA pandemic. Medicare, which limited reimbursement to its use in rural areas, has lifted this 19422-2339. Phone: 610/825-7686. restriction. And New York state, for example, now allows out-of-state physicians to use Fax: 610/825-7641. telemedicine. Copyright© 2020 ComputerTalk For pharmacy there is long overdue recognition of the critical role it plays in the healthcare Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. Re pro duc tion in whole or in part ecosystem. Pharmacies have been exempt from the forced closures of so many other without written permission from businesses — patients must have access to their medications. Moreover, pharmacies are the publisher is prohibited. Annu al equipped with the technology tools to stay patient connected. Reminder calls to pick up subscription in U.S. and terri tories, a prescription are driven by the pharmacy management system. Refills can be ordered $50; in Canada, $75; overseas, $95. through the pharmacy’s website or by phone, enabled by an interface with an interactive Buyers Guide issue only: $25 Print- voice response system that sends these prescriptions into the queue for filling. Mobile ed by Cummings Printing. apps are used to confirm receipt for those prescriptions delivered to the patient’s home. General Disclaimer Billing of these prescriptions is technology driven. There is also use of online counseling Opinions expressed in bylined ar- with patients. And telepharmacy has been in use in some rural areas of the country. ticles do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher or Com- The importance of the partnership of technology vendors and the pharmacies they serve puterTalk. The mention of product has never been more striking. Pharmacies were on the leading edge in adopting the use or service trade names in editorial of technology back in the day, and because of this are now are in a position to serve their material or advertise ments is not in- patients with uninterrupted service. tended as an en dorsement of those products or services by the publish- In closing, on a personal note, one thing that upsets me is how the pandemic has er or ComputerTalk. In no manner disrupted education with the closing of schools and colleges and universities across the should any such data be deemed country. I have a granddaughter who is a freshman at Yale. She came home for spring complete or otherwise represent an break and hasn’t been back on campus since. She is concluding her first year via online entire compilation of available data. classes, which is not the same as face-to-face classes, by any stretch of the imagination.