Technology

Hospitals still have a long way to go in terms of installing computerized physician order entry and point-of-care systems to improve patient safety

Prescription drugs and some OTCs used in hospitals will have to bear bar codes in two years' time

Opus Core pharmacy system enables hospital pharmacies to fill prescriptions for employees and retirees with greater ease

Technology Update column for issue of March 8, 2004.

To help consumers locate legitimate Internet pharmacies, the National Commmunity Pharmacists Association has teamed up with SquareTrade to offer a seal of approval verifying the licensure of on-line pharmacies and pharmacists.

PCA pump cartridge shortages

What are the rules governing on-line prescriptions?

More hospitals are automating IV preparation in an effort to reallocate staff and reduce med errors. St. Francis Hospital has recently adopted the use of Intelifill robotics for automated IV meds.

Technology Update column for issue of Feb. 9, 2003.

RxRefill.net is the dream of two young entrepreneurs who are marketing their Internet-based refill program to independent pharmacies as an inexpensive alternative to integrated voice response technology.

The 2003 Medicare reform act requires creation of standards for the transmission of electronic prescriptions but not require that physicians to e-prescribe for Medicare patients.

Abbott drug library software MedNet

Technology Update column for Drug Topics issue of Jan. 12, 2004.

Technology Update column for Dec. 8, 2003, issue of Drug Topics.

Fewer than 30% of on-line Canadian pharmacies are extensions of licensed bricks and mortar pharmacies, according to a survey by PharmacyChecker.com.

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is latest hospital to adopt GE's pharmacy software

Here are highlights from conference on CPOE sponsored by ASHP and ISMP.

Health Industry Business Communications Council has created a provider-based task force to evaluate the needs of institutions in implementing standardized information technology systems

Technology Update column for Nov. 3, 2003

A British firm, PA Consulting Group, is pilot testing its technology-driven solution to give pharmacists' point-of-dispensing detection of counterfeit drugs

Compared to traditional paper scripts, electronic prescribing does not improve formulary compliance or generic substitution rates, according to a study of Aetna Rx claims.

Technology Update column for Oct. 6, 2003

Radio frequency identification (RFID)is touted as a way to streamline the product supply chain but some consumers fear that in this game of tag, they're it.

Pharmacists can use a new on-line tool to help meet continuous quality improvement requirements by the state.

Technology Update column for issue of Sept. 1, 2003.

Parata Systems unveiled its automated pharmacy dispensing system that occupies only 12 sq. ft. but houses 252 drugs and spits out 150 scripts per hour.

Pharmacies can order controlled substances electronically, instead of using Form 222, under a new DEA proposal

Clinicians can now offer their patients with non-Hodgkin?s lymphoma (NHL) therapy that combines targeted radiation with patient-specific dosing. The FDA recently approved tositumomab and iodine I-131 tositumomab (Bexxar, Corixa Corporation/GlaxoSmithKline) for the treatment of patients with CD20-positive, follicular NHL, with and without transformation, whose disease is refractory to rituxamab (Rituxan, Genentech) and has relapsed following chemotherapy. Training can be requested and orders placed by calling (877) 423-9927. Corixa recently began supplying Bexxar to cancer treatment centers.

Technology Update column for the Aug. 4, 2003 issue.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies are gearing up to make fuller use of bar codes to prevent errors along the medication supply chain, according to the first industry-wide survey by the Healthcare Distribution Management Association.