My name's Ashley Thompson and I'm a P2 student this year. I've worked in a community pharmacy for the past 6, going on 7 years and am nearly positive that this is the area of pharmacy practice that I'll be going into after graduation. For my blog I will mostly post about current topics that are going on in the pharmacy world, and how I think that they apply to the community pharmacy setting.
I thought the following article was appropriate for this weeks discussion on information technology and how it will effect the pharmaceutical field in the future.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20120903/INFO/309039976/young-tech-savvy-docs-want-a-real-life-but-dont-call-them-slackers#
This article discusses how many young residents and new doctors are switching from paper charts and files to electronic patient profiles and information. They can more readily access their charts, drug information, and have difficult drug calculation tools at their fingertips.
One of the doctors even said that he couldn't imagine doing his job without his Ipad anymore. With the constant creation of new apps being put out onto the web, the younger generation has unlimited opportunities and helpful tools whenever they need them. These two different doctors in the article stated that they used the smartphones and ipads every day, and yet it didn't mean that they were slacking off or giving less patient care than they would if they still used older methods.
"These doctors embrace technology and teamwork. They like electronic medical records and smartphone apps. And they like sharing the load with other doctors on the team."
Not only did they say that this was a more efficient way to care for their patients, but it also allowed them to have more free time to do other things outside of the busy life of the hospital, and I would have to agree.
I believe that this also applies to retail pharmacy because you are frequently being asked drug information questions, and complicated information by your patients, and your job as a pharmacist is to be confident in the information that you're supplying your patient with. By having quick and easy access to different drug information sites such as micromedex and lexicomp, you can rest assured that your patients will not only be getting quality information, but they won't have to extend their stay at the pharmacy to get it. Most customers don't want to be at the pharmacy for long, they're expecting quick service, and if they want information about a drug what quicker way to provide that information than by having your tablet, ipad, or smartphone on you at all times?
One of the concerns people have with this however, is that people will rely too heavily on the information they can look up, and won't have as extensive knowledge about the practice as pharmacists had in the past, which I disagree with. To be able to get the best use out of these different applications, one has to know what they're looking for, what sites to use for the best results, and the quickest way to go about searching for the answer.Being able to interpret the information you're given and translate it into something the patient will understand is still just as important, whether you're looking up the information in a large reference book, or on an easily accessible website. It's also much easier to show the patient the information that you found to be able to back up your search, and let them see for themselves.
As with our class discussion this week, I believe that either a tablet or a smartphone would be practical for the community setting, however a smartphone would probably be easier to carry with you, seeing as it would fit into your coat pocket. More and more these different forms of technology are entering the pharmacy world and expanding the field of practice. I don't currently own a smartphone or an Ipad, but I know that when I'm on my fourth year rotations I will definitely have one or both of these, and that it will only help me to better communicate with not only my patients, but my team members as well.
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