What is Informatics?
In our own words, it is the study, invention, and implementation of hardware, software, and algorithms used to improve communication, understanding, and management of information.
What is Pharmacy Informatics?
Pharmacy Informatics is the realization of informatics in a cost effective environment that benefits the Pharmacist and the practice of Pharmacy through utilization of efficacious systems and tools.
Pharmacy Informatics for the Pharmacist
The Pharmacy Informaticist can streamline the work for a pharmacist. Whether it be a hospital, clinical, or retail setting, the pharmacist relies on computer systems to make the work more manageable. These systems can be streamlined, even enhanced, to improve work flow. A system that is developed with the pharmacist in mind--reducing keystrokes, linking comprehensive patient data, providing a complete drug interaction database--is a system that will support a pharmacist's work. Why should the Pharmacist spend 5 to 10 minutes flipping through references for a particular answer to a question? Why not have the references stored on a database of information that is cross-referenceble? The answer needed could be attained in less than half the time, be printed out in a nice patient friendly form, and give the Pharmacist the extra time to counsel the patient properly instead of racing back to the filling counter.
Is it such a radical idea to make pharmacy systems that are friendly to the Pharmacy Tech? Why not have the DUR and drug interactions screens pop up on a totally different screen in the counseling area where the Pharmacist can look at them one at a time between counseling, instead of calling the Pharmacist to come look at the screen or having the technician simply bypass the system because they happen to know the Pharmacist's code? And why not have these interactions screens give you immediate and easy-to-use information as a cross reference instead of giving you cryptic responses to a rejected claim?
In an institutional or organization setting, the Pharmacy Informaticist can better arrange information for students or members that provides an increase in the quality of learning. Educational materials that are indexed, cross-referenced, and reviewed properly is easily converted to a database that can be distributed via the Web, in a slide-show format, textbooks, or pamphlets. Publishing these materials, following HL7 standards, on the Web provides opportunities for a vast multi-link engine to access these materials. Implementing and teaching students to adopt technology on a proactive basis and even provide training so that the student is prepared to handle these new technologies can make the difference in the real work place. For example, requiring students to use the new PDA or handheld technologies while in school familiarizes them with its uses before entering the work place where a growing number of hospital physicians and pharmacists are using these devices.
Pharmacy Informatics for the Patient
The Pharmacy Informaticist can create new information databases that allow the patient to access their particular information in an easy to understand format. It can be simple to use, yet not lacking content, by providing an index and cross-referencing it with other related information via the Web. A patient that understands their particular disease state is a patient that is likely to take a more active role in their own well-being. This enhances the outcomes tremendously. And understanding is the key.... Multimedia--videos, animated pictures, sounds--can be utilized to create interactive learning experiences for patients. Video teleconferencing can become an instant source of information for a patient that has trouble staying mobile, yet can't afford costly visits to the emergency room, and still retain the quality of patient confidentiality and the feeling of interactivity with another person. Giving the patient more control over their health is key.
Pharmacy Informatics for the Health Care Provider
By improving the computer/information systems for the pharmacist, the Pharmacy Informaticist assists other health care providers both directly and indirectly. Directly, information becomes more readily available in many forms, such as a comprehensive hospital system that allows physicians, nurses, and pharmacists alike to view patient profiles thoroughly or even provide a centralized location for other providers to learn, review, or study a particular drug. Again, if these systems are arranged properly, a virtually inexhaustible resource for drug information can be created. Indirectly, pharmacists that spend less time dealing with below standard computer/information systems are free to spend more time actually being a pharmacist and dispensing knowledge of drugs to providers. The Pharmacist should be unlatched from the dispensing counter and free to move about with the Health Care Team, on the floors or with the patients, where the Pharmacist belongs. There is no other professional that holds the understanding and knowledge of drugs as the Pharmacist. Getting that Pharmacist back into the health decision-making role is key.
http://www.pharmacyinformatics.com/informatics3.html
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
CDT launches health privacy initiative
Digital rights and privacy group takes over the Health Privacy Project and will expand its focus to work on patient privacy issues, such as the rights of patients to access their data
Privacy needs to be a higher priority as the U.S. government and other groups push for adoption of health IT as a way to improve the country's healthcare system, said the Center for Democracy and Technology , which has launched a health privacy initiative.
CDT, a Washington, D.C., digital rights and privacy group, announced Tuesday it has taken over the Health Privacy Project (HPP), an 11-year-old advocacy group started by Janlori Goldman, who was also a CDT co-founder. The merged organization will expand its focus and work on several lingering patient privacy issues, such as the role of patient consent for information use, enforcement for privacy lapses , and the rights of patients to access their data, said Deven McGraw, the new director of HPP.
Recent years have seen an increase in adoption of health IT, but "minimal progress in resolving the privacy issues" associated with electronic health records, added Leslie Harris, CDT's president and CEO. "We believe we're at a seminal moment," she said. "We believe privacy can be an enabler of 21st century health care. The next few years are critical in getting this right."
CDT has a long history of working on privacy issues and bringing together groups to work on problems involving privacy and tech issues, she said. "We're going to apply all of this expertise to resolve some of the key policy questions that are really vexing us," said McGraw, former chief operating officer for the National Partnership for Women and Families.
Among the major issues in health privacy is the role of patient consent, McGraw said. Some groups have advocated that patient consent be the major way health information is controlled, but HPP and CDT have concerns that some approaches could ignore the obligations of health-care providers and other holders of patient data, she said.
"In my opinion, [consent] puts way too much burden on the individual, as opposed to putting the right privacy and security structures in place to ensure patient privacy," McGraw said.
Asked about legislation now before Congress, particularly the Trust in Health Information Act introduced by three Democrats last month, McGraw said the bill may be trying to do "too much, too soon" and may have trouble getting approved. The bill would require holders of patient information to create safeguards, to notify patients of breaches and to maintain records of disclosure. The bill would also set several rules for when holders of patient information can and cannot share the information.
Another group, Patient Privacy Rights, has endorsed the bill. Patient privacy groups are "making real progress -- and legislators are listening," said Dr. Deborah Peel, founder and chairwoman of the group. "This bill puts patients back in control of their health information and requires many of the privacy principles our coalition demands. It's refreshing to share good news about Congress."
HPP's Goldman, who's been splitting her time between the group and as a research scholar at Columbia University, will step aside as the project's director, but remain as a senior adviser. By working together, HPP and CDT will create a "powerhouse" organization focused on health privacy, she said.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/11/CDT-launches-health-privacy-initiative_1.html
Privacy needs to be a higher priority as the U.S. government and other groups push for adoption of health IT as a way to improve the country's healthcare system, said the Center for Democracy and Technology , which has launched a health privacy initiative.
CDT, a Washington, D.C., digital rights and privacy group, announced Tuesday it has taken over the Health Privacy Project (HPP), an 11-year-old advocacy group started by Janlori Goldman, who was also a CDT co-founder. The merged organization will expand its focus and work on several lingering patient privacy issues, such as the role of patient consent for information use, enforcement for privacy lapses , and the rights of patients to access their data, said Deven McGraw, the new director of HPP.
Recent years have seen an increase in adoption of health IT, but "minimal progress in resolving the privacy issues" associated with electronic health records, added Leslie Harris, CDT's president and CEO. "We believe we're at a seminal moment," she said. "We believe privacy can be an enabler of 21st century health care. The next few years are critical in getting this right."
CDT has a long history of working on privacy issues and bringing together groups to work on problems involving privacy and tech issues, she said. "We're going to apply all of this expertise to resolve some of the key policy questions that are really vexing us," said McGraw, former chief operating officer for the National Partnership for Women and Families.
Among the major issues in health privacy is the role of patient consent, McGraw said. Some groups have advocated that patient consent be the major way health information is controlled, but HPP and CDT have concerns that some approaches could ignore the obligations of health-care providers and other holders of patient data, she said.
"In my opinion, [consent] puts way too much burden on the individual, as opposed to putting the right privacy and security structures in place to ensure patient privacy," McGraw said.
Asked about legislation now before Congress, particularly the Trust in Health Information Act introduced by three Democrats last month, McGraw said the bill may be trying to do "too much, too soon" and may have trouble getting approved. The bill would require holders of patient information to create safeguards, to notify patients of breaches and to maintain records of disclosure. The bill would also set several rules for when holders of patient information can and cannot share the information.
Another group, Patient Privacy Rights, has endorsed the bill. Patient privacy groups are "making real progress -- and legislators are listening," said Dr. Deborah Peel, founder and chairwoman of the group. "This bill puts patients back in control of their health information and requires many of the privacy principles our coalition demands. It's refreshing to share good news about Congress."
HPP's Goldman, who's been splitting her time between the group and as a research scholar at Columbia University, will step aside as the project's director, but remain as a senior adviser. By working together, HPP and CDT will create a "powerhouse" organization focused on health privacy, she said.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/11/CDT-launches-health-privacy-initiative_1.html
Medical groups launch e-prescribing Web site
GetRxConnected.com aims to persuade physicians to switch from paper-based medical prescriptions to e-prescribing, claiming it can reduce errors and save lives
Five doctors organizations have launched a Web site and campaign designed to persuade physicians to switch from paper-based prescriptions of medications to electronic prescribing.
The Get Connected campaign, along with the GetRxConnected.com Web site, are focused on helping doctors move from prescriptions written on paper pads or entered into a computer and faxed to pharmacies. The Web site, launched Tuesday, includes a technology guide to help doctors move to e-prescribing. It also provides perspectives of other doctors on the benefits of e-prescribing, and points to connected pharmacies.
The effort, with support from such groups as the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics, is aimed at the 94 percent of doctors in the U.S. who still do not write prescriptions electronically, said Dr. William Jessee, president and CEO of the Medical Group Management Association.
In many cases, doctors who are entering prescription data into an electronic health record are then faxing those prescriptions to pharmacies, where the data has to be re-entered into a computer, Jessee said during an event called the Safe-Rx Awards in Washington, D.C. Re-entering the data increases the risk that a prescription error will occur, he said.
About 150,000 doctors across the U.S. now fax prescriptions, but as of Jan. 1, 2009, the U.S. government Medicare program will require that prescriptions it covers be sent electronically, Jessee said.
"We need to pick up the pace," he said.
Backers of electronic prescribing say it can save lives and reduce medical errors. About 8,000 people in the U.S. die every year because of prescription errors, said Newt Gingrich, founder of the Center for Health Transformation and former Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Some doctors are still fighting the move to e-prescribing and suggesting the U.S. government shouldn't mandate the change, he said.
"Their argument is, 'I reserve the right to issue paper prescriptions and kill people,'" Gingrich said at the awards event. "'It's wrong for you to require me to be safe'."
Gingrich praised legislation introduced by Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts that would provide grants to doctors to defray the costs of e-prescribing software and other tools. The E-Meds bill would also increase payments to doctors who switch to e-prescribing.
Gingrich predicted Congress would pass the Kerry bill sometime this year. The bill could save the government billions of dollars in health-care costs, he said.
The time has come for doctors to embrace new technology, Kerry added. "For years, we've been writing prescriptions with a 5,000-year-old technology -- pen and paper," he said. "[People] don't understand that pharmacists spend the better part of the day on the telephone, calling back to the doctor's office in order to clarify the hand-written report that they've gotten."
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/04/Medical-groups-launch-e-prescribing-Web-site_1.html
Five doctors organizations have launched a Web site and campaign designed to persuade physicians to switch from paper-based prescriptions of medications to electronic prescribing.
The Get Connected campaign, along with the GetRxConnected.com Web site, are focused on helping doctors move from prescriptions written on paper pads or entered into a computer and faxed to pharmacies. The Web site, launched Tuesday, includes a technology guide to help doctors move to e-prescribing. It also provides perspectives of other doctors on the benefits of e-prescribing, and points to connected pharmacies.
The effort, with support from such groups as the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics, is aimed at the 94 percent of doctors in the U.S. who still do not write prescriptions electronically, said Dr. William Jessee, president and CEO of the Medical Group Management Association.
In many cases, doctors who are entering prescription data into an electronic health record are then faxing those prescriptions to pharmacies, where the data has to be re-entered into a computer, Jessee said during an event called the Safe-Rx Awards in Washington, D.C. Re-entering the data increases the risk that a prescription error will occur, he said.
About 150,000 doctors across the U.S. now fax prescriptions, but as of Jan. 1, 2009, the U.S. government Medicare program will require that prescriptions it covers be sent electronically, Jessee said.
"We need to pick up the pace," he said.
Backers of electronic prescribing say it can save lives and reduce medical errors. About 8,000 people in the U.S. die every year because of prescription errors, said Newt Gingrich, founder of the Center for Health Transformation and former Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Some doctors are still fighting the move to e-prescribing and suggesting the U.S. government shouldn't mandate the change, he said.
"Their argument is, 'I reserve the right to issue paper prescriptions and kill people,'" Gingrich said at the awards event. "'It's wrong for you to require me to be safe'."
Gingrich praised legislation introduced by Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts that would provide grants to doctors to defray the costs of e-prescribing software and other tools. The E-Meds bill would also increase payments to doctors who switch to e-prescribing.
Gingrich predicted Congress would pass the Kerry bill sometime this year. The bill could save the government billions of dollars in health-care costs, he said.
The time has come for doctors to embrace new technology, Kerry added. "For years, we've been writing prescriptions with a 5,000-year-old technology -- pen and paper," he said. "[People] don't understand that pharmacists spend the better part of the day on the telephone, calling back to the doctor's office in order to clarify the hand-written report that they've gotten."
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/04/Medical-groups-launch-e-prescribing-Web-site_1.html
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