The U.S. Navy is in the midst of what's billed as the largest telepharmacy implementation in history to help ease a shortage of pharmacists throughout the service.
With technology from Mission, Kan.-based ScriptPro, a single pharmacist can supervise medication dispensing at multiple satellite pharmacies. With audio and video links, the supervising pharmacist can view original handwritten prescriptions, the medication being dispensed at the remote site and stored images of the prescribed drug to make sure the patient gets the right medication. The pharmacist also can consult via video with patients.
"Our telepharmacy system operates in a systematic way," ScriptPro President and CEO Mike Coughlin says in a press release. "It organizes photos, which become part of the electronic record, of the written prescription, the drug image and patient information. The pharmacist reviews these remotely and then interacts with the patient concerning the proper use of the medication."
What we'd like to know is how many paper scripts Navy pharmacists actually see, given that the Military Health System has had e-prescribing technology for years. We're guessing most of the paper scripts come from private physicians.
For more about the Navy's telepharmacy project:
- read this ScriptPro press release