Drug Topics - March 10, 2008 - (Page 70) 70 DRUG TOPICS MARCH 10, 2008 www.drugtopics.com TECHNOLOGY UPDATE Reid Paul NCI looks at wireless compliance monitoring oping to improve compliance among cancer patients participating in oncology and clinical trials, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded Leap of Faith Technologies a grant to support its telemonitoring program. Leap of Faith’s eMedonline program combines cellphones, RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, and other data to track patient compliance. With the system, information collected from RFID tags on a medication package can be collected in real-time to verify compliance. If a patient takes the wrong medicine, clinicians can be alerted so that they can intervene immediately. According to NCI up to 80% of cancer patients failed to follow their prescriptions. In another effort to improve compliance, In Range has developed a medication dispensing system for inhome use. The EMMA remote medication management system takes blister cards created by the pharmacist and dispenses appropriate medications at the correct times, managing the dosing schedule for the patient and increasing the likelihood of compliance. H In addition, DrFirst has announced a strategic initiative with Meditech to integrate their hospital-focused technology systems. Under the agreement, Meditech will integrate DrFirst’s Rcopia Engine Services with the computerized physician order entry software that is part of Meditech’s Health Care Information Systems. The newly integrated systems will allow hospitals to access electronic RcopiaMini patient records and e-prescribing supported by DrFirst through the Meditech system. ANI gets ready for e-pedigree As the deadline for California’s e-pedigree requirement draws closer, ANI Pharmaceuticals has chosen SupplyScape data-management tools solution to help ensure it is compliant before the January 2009 deadline. ANI will also use SupplyScape to handle supply-chain security for its generic and over-the-counter drugs. RxHub adds formulary data RxHub is adding formulary and benefits data from Zynchros.com to its network. The functionality will now include formulary status, as well as age limits, drug exclusions, gender limits, prior authorization, and textbased support for prescriber guidelines. The data will be delivered to RxHub using the NCPDP formulary and benefits transmission standard. Automation results studied An analysis of patient outcomes before and after implementing automated dispensing systems at Guelph General Hospital reveals a reduction in medication errors and improved efficiency. The hospital located outside Toronto, Canada, found a 27% reduction in medication incidents after the implementation of the Omnicell Medication system, including dispensing errors and errors when a nurse selected the incorrect medication. According to the internal analysis, automation also reduced time spent obtaining controlled substances from more than three minutes to less than 30 seconds. Technology facilitates MTM As pharmacists embrace medication therapy management (MTM) services, technology companies are developing solutions to streamline the process. MTMPath, for example, has released a software upgrade that provides pharmacists with a one-step process to generate specific MTM recommendations through StatPath functionality developed by Clinical Support Services. StatPath offers preloaded recommendation templates while still allowing pharmacists to build their own templates. CoxHealth moves to e-prescribing CoxHealth, a four-hospital organization with 55 physician clinics, has selected eScriptMessenger e-prescribing solution from Kryptiq. eScriptMessenger electronic prescribing software connects users of GE’s Centricity EMR solution directly to retail pharmacy computers through the secure Pharmacy Health Information Exchange operated by SureScripts. DT e-prescribing in style DrFirst has announced that it has created an e-prescribing application for the iPod Touch and iPhone. The RcopiaMini will also work on Treo and HP iPaq devices. http://www.drugtopics.com http://www.Zynchros.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.