Technology

Even though it will be costly to implement bar coding, hospitals should bite the bullet and invest in this technology.

A coalition of pharmacy groups plans to appeal a rejection of its effort to overturn the mandated use of the 5.1 Rx claim standard developed by the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP).

Technology Update column, June 2, 2003

Citing lack of product availability, Leapfrog Group extends deadline for compliance to CPOE for hospitals.

The integration of clinical pharmacy and laboratory information systems together with the implementation of CPOE and bedside bar-code scanning is allowing health-system pharmacists to broaden their scope of practice.

Jonathan Brunswig, a western Kansas pharmacist, uses technology to check prescriptions for hospitals many miles away.

Technology Update column for May 5, 2003 issue.

SafeScript is using electronic prescribing to build a new chain of pharmacies focused on pain management medications.

Technology Update column for April 7, 2003 issue.

New Administration proposal calls for bar coding on hospital products and reporting of ADRs, drug errors

Standards must be developed to ensure that mistakes are not built into electronic prescribing systems, according to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.

RxHub plans to offer hospitals electronic access to outpatient drug information stored in databanks maintained by PBMs and payers.

Baxa to introduce Rapid-Fill batch syringe filler

Hospitals ready for CMS pilot study to assess their quality of care rendered

A Pennsylvania pharmacist and his brother-in-law have developed Rx Script Tracker, electronic signature capture software that is HIPAA-enabled.

Flexibility is the hallmark of HHS's final rule on ensuring the security of HIPAA protected health information.

New York hospital testing the use of CPOE for heparin administration

Kaiser decides to go electronic and paperless

Connecticut health system conducts study of use of clinical decision support in home patients and CPOE in nursing home patients

Rhode Island has pioneered an electronic prescribing initiative that links physicians with every pharmacy in the state through a partnership with SureScripts Systems Inc.

Technology Update column for the issue of March 3, 2003.

RxHub has refined its business model to deemphasize electronic prescribing and physcian-pharmacist connectivity, according to CEO James Bradley.

Kirby Lester's new drug counting machine

New VA study finds that the law of unintended consequences is working

Springing up in response to rising Rx prices, more and more storefront operations serve as middlemen forwarding scripts to Canadian pharmacies for reimportation to U.S. citizens.

Pfizer, Baxter, Abbott, and APP are some companies that have committed to adding bar codes on their hospital products.

Technology Update column for Feb. 3, 2003.

A Florida Adminstrative Law judge ruled that the Internet pharmacy Rx Network operates legally but recommended that the firm be fined $24,000 and placed on probabtion for one year for prescribing excessive amounts of drugs on 24 scripts.