Information at Every Station

iPharmacist has the tools you need to streamline your practice and your approach to patient care

BY AMANDA YOUNG

Since its launch in 2001, Apotex’s iPharmacist has evolved into a powerful business tool with the ability to make a pharmacist’s life easier, both in and out of the dispensary. A collection of tools offered through the program’s PDA, desktop and online components are designed to streamline patient-care initiatives. Here’s a look at some of the key features:

1) iPharmacist PDA
With efficiently designed handheld applications, iPharmacist brings documentation, workload measurement and patient care resources into the palm of your hand. The Professional Activity Tracker enables collection of data related to patient care activities and the associated expenses and workload levels to facilitate both clinical and business planning. With built-in HotSync technology, the data collected on the PDA can be easily converted into highly relevant and usable information when transferred to the iPharmacist online reporting facility.

Rounding out the iPharmacist PDA functionality is the comprehensive Lexi-Comp Drug Library. Containing frequently updated information on thousands of drugs, the library also provides information on government issued warning, drug interactions and alternative therapies. An International Brands database enables pharmacists to cross-reference international and Canadian names of drugs, while the iNews feature downloads medical information from the WebMD-powered Medscape news feed, providing the latest industry updates. A variety of iPharmacist-compatible handheld devices are available for sale from www.ipharmacist.com, including the Treo 680, which combines handheld technology with a cellphone in one device.

2) iPharmacist Desktop
The iPharmacist desktop seamlessly integrates into existing workflow to enable pharmacists to provide disease management services to their clients as a routine standard of care. Using iPharmacist’s unique DIN-
activated technology, the iPharmacist Desktop prompts the pharmacist to initiate disease management when a patient’s prescription is filled. All the necessary pharmacist documentation and patient support materials are automatically gen erated, letting the pharmacist seamlessly consult with the patient and provide relevant, take-home patient education materials. As the pharmacist completes these activities, the iPharmacist desktop quietly collects and transfers the patient care and workload data to the iPharmacist online reporting facility where it is aggregated with PDA data and incorporated into the user’s custom reports.

3) iPharmacist Website
When an iPharmacist user registers online at www.ipharmacist.com, he or she is given access to a personal, password-protected profile where patient care, expense and workload data collected with iPharmacist PDAs and the iPharmacist desktop are consolidated into the user’s custom reports. Using the online reporting facility on the iPharmacist website, users can access their information to review or edit, or print custom reports covering a specific period (such as the past week, month, or year). The website also provides access to the iPharmacist Community, a forum for users interested in sharing ideas, tips, support, industry news and other information to maximize their use of iPharmacist and determine how best to incorporate it into their practice.