Wireless patient care saves Mississippi $14 million

A year into the project the results look pretty good. Informed Decisions Group now estimates that the system, which provides formulary and drug interaction data to prescribers, saved nearly $1 million in prevented hospitalization costs from drug interaction problems. In addition, $14 million was saved by guiding doctors to prescribe lower-cost medications. What's more, prescribers that used the system wrote, on average, 20 fewer prescriptions.

A loyal solution for prompt payment

Robots hit the road

Looking to spread the gospel of automation, Parata Systems is hitting the road with robots in tow. The company recently unveiled a new mobile pharmacy demonstration van. Inside the spacious vehicle, which is currently touring the East Coast, is a demonstration pharmacy complete with a working version of the Parata RDS robotic dispensing system as well as some of the company's other dispensing technologies. "This gives us the ability to take automation to the pharmacy," Keith Overfield, director of marketing, told Drug Topics. "Pharmacies need to start looking at automation, which can help to drive the industry forward."

Navigating the pharmacy

If you ever feel lost at sea tracking a prescription through the entire process, McKesson has developed a new tool to help bring you safely back to shore. Pharmacy Navigator comprises seven modules: imaging, filling, checking, virtual will-call, Rx tracker, inventory and replenishment, and a dashboard. The Navigator is integrated with the MPS Pharmacy Management System, Pharmaserv, and can also interface with automation and pharmacy management systems from other companies.

New solutions for subsidies

By all accounts, too many Medicare beneficiaries eligible for low-income subsidies do not take advantage of the program. By and large, the problem has been the inability to find those beneficiaries and point them to the right programs. Now a couple of solutions have emerged that aim to direct potential beneficiaries to the appropriate programs. The National Council on Aging is partnering with Synergy Software Technologies to add more data into its free on-line BenefitCheckUp system, which will help low-income beneficiaries find out whether they qualify. In addition, Vangent Inc., which operates the Beneficiary Contact Center for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has announced it has integrated a system from Human Arc that will also assist in directing beneficiaries to low-income subsidies when they apply.

CVS upgrades data warehouse

CVS is migrating its data storage and analysis to the Teradata Enterprise Data Warehouse. The move is expected to be completed before the end of 2007 and should give CVS faster access to critical data as well as the ability to perform more advanced business analysis.

Said Bryan Rodrigues, director of technology for CVS/pharmacy, "This technology investment in Teradata's Data Warehouse solution will help us continue to meet the increasing demand for timely access to business information."