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News
Issue #2002 - 16
(April 2002)
(Updated Apr.
24, 2002)
APPLICATIONS &
DEVELOPMENT
U.S. Grocery Store Chain Introduces
Paperless Pharmacy Services
Doctors can abandon their
prescription pads and use desktop computers, hand-held computers or
cell phones to write paperless prescriptions and send them to
pharmacies in less than 30 seconds. Giant Food and Pharmacy is the
first chain pharmacy to offer the service, called OnCallData, in all
of its 154 pharmacies
The biggest risk between a pharmacist
and a patient is the notorious and illegible and confusing
prescription that can result in the wrong drug being prescribed.\
In a bid to lessen that risk and to
make pharmacists more efficient and patient-interactive, a group of
doctors and medical technicians have come up with a new electronic
prescription delivery system named OnCallData.
Dr. Allan Weinstein's company InstantDx
developed the electronic delivery system and he joins The Early Show
on Tuesday to talk about how the system works.
The system basically hooks Doctors to
pharmacists via the Internet. Doctors file a prescription at the OnCallData
Web site and then send it electronically DIRECTLY to a pharmacist. It
allows doctors to send paperless prescriptions to pharmacists in less
than 30 seconds. It operates as a Web-based subscription service, so
there is nothing to install on the computer - provided that it is
Internet friendly.
Within 24 hours, doctors can be
connected by logging onto the Internet and a doctor doesn't buy any
kind of equipment, no hardware. The doctor pays a monthly fee of
$39.95 for the integrated system, which includes access to the
doctor's patient database -- a database already used around the
country. The pharmacy itself also pays a small transaction.
Giant Food Stores is hooking up, first,
all of its Mid Atlantic pharmacies to the system with hopes to make it
nationwide soon.
According to the American
Pharmaceutical Association, "several recent studies in hospitals
have shown that physicians who use a computer order program witness
improvements in medication errors rates -- one found a 55 percent
reduction in errors with potential for harm." However, the APA is
quick to say that no system is foolproof because no one person is
foolproof.
For more info: http://www.cbsnews.com/earlyshow/healthwatch/healthnews/
& http://www.oncalldata.com
MobileInfo.com’s Comments & Advisory: We have
stated that handheld devices have a great potential in healthcare
industry. It will be a while before majority of doctors start using.
This i a good beginning.
Note: This news release may contain
forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in
developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology
architectures. All trademarks used in this summary are
the property of their respective owners.
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