Analysis of pharmacy-centric blogs

I found a good research article on the analysis of pharmacy blogs. It is the first peer-reviewed research literature pertaining to pharmacy blogs. This article explores the types of pharmacy blogs, themes, and impressions of the pharmacy profession from bloggers.  The article provides a brief background of the potential uses of blogs in the health professions. Several potential uses include: communicating evidence-based health information to the public, seeking clinical opinions from other professionals, increasing one’s exposure in the field, promoting the practice of health care, serving as an early warning system for issues within a profession, and giving health care professionals a collaborative forum in which to present and discuss issues related to their field or a specific community of practice. Of the 136 blogs that met the study criteria, the seven categories of pharmacy blogs that emerged were news, personal views, student information, career oriented, drug related, big pharma, and technician information. What I found interesting from the result was that 63% of the blogs in the personal views category were judged as promoting a negative impression of pharmacists and/or the profession.  Majority of the blogs were news related and personal views. In addition, the top 3 themes were issues with patients, personal life, and working conditions/issues in consecutive order. In conclusion, this study has showed that most of the pharmacy-centric blogs contained useful information for those interested in the pharmacy profession. However, there were a significant number of pharmacy blogs that contained derogatory posts regarding patients, other health care professionals, and/or the author's occupation as a pharmacist. According to Cain and Dillon, one of the positive aspects of pharmacy-centric blogs is that “the blogs serve to humanize the pharmacist, revealing emotions and feelings that might not otherwise be seen by patients and/or other health professionals.”  The blog posts can increase awareness of problems pharmacists face.If you would like to read more from this article, I provided the source below.

Reference:

Cain, J.  and Dillon, G. Analysis of pharmacy-centric blogs: Types, discourse themes, and issues. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2010;50:714–719.

Prescription Text Alert

More and more people are using text messaging as a key form of communication.  In the beginning, I fought the texting bug until I finally discovered that it was a quick and easy way to communicate with family and friends throughout the day. It was only a matter of time before texting made its way into healthcare as a way to remind patients to take their medications. Walgreens have a new prescription text alert system that text you when your prescription is ready or if there are any status changes. The idea of using text messages to encourage patients to take their medication is to increase medication compliance. By letting patients know exactly when their medication is ready, more patients will take their medication at the right time. The feedback I received from the patients that signed up at Walgreens is generally positive. However, they could have added a way to actually remind patients when to take their medication with either text messages or notifications. Furthermore, you can even chat live with a Walgreens' pharmacist to get answers and advice online for your general health and medication questions. As Walgreens dive into the mobile health market, I expect other pharmacies or healthcare providers to bring new and innovative technology to patients as well.

Health Care Screening Kiosks in Pharmacies

I was reading an interesting article about a company called SoloHealth that will place self-service Health Care screening kiosks in pharmacies and supermarkets. These kiosks will allow people to perform basic health care screening including diabetes, obesity and hypertension, and to check their vision and hearing in less than 10 minutes. Additionally, patients will receive recommendations for follow-up care. SoloHealth plans to place theses kiosk in underserved areas and will be available in English and Spanish. How does it work? Based on a person’s demographic ethnicity, the system analyzes the answers from the video questionnaire and generates a customized report and action plan for the customer. SoloHealth received a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand its EyeSite vision-screening kiosk into a full self-screening station. By the end of 2010, SoloHealth will release its EyeSite vision-screening kiosk with two major retailers. A video demonstration of the EyeSite vision-screening kiosk can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJCYNQQd17s.

Preventative care, including health care screenings like this, can reduce health care cost significantly. This kiosk is not trying to replace a doctor because you will still have to see a doctor for treatment. It is a great way to educate people and motivate patients to stay on top of their health. I have noticed that pharmacies and supermarkets taking advantage of this trend and using technology to further maintain customers’ health. For instance, recently, Walgreen started sending texts to customers on their mobile phones to alert them when their prescriptions are ready. At my IPPE site, the pharmacist asks the customers sign up for the text alerts when they come pick up their prescription customer. What better way to incorporate technology to deliver health care. By adding new solutions to the mix, pharmacies are becoming wellness destinations.
If you are interested in learning more about SoloHealth kiosks, go to http://www.solohealth.com/

Source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/SoloHealth-Brings-Health-Care-Screening-Kiosks-to-Supermarkets-Pharmacies-573923/

IPhone = wireless medical device?

I’m not an iPhone user, but amazed by the huge number of unique medical applications designed for iPhone. The iphone have various applications that that can assist someone with medical diagnostics or healthcare maintenance, keep track of medical information, and can even communicate with a physician.  I wonder if the iPhone will be considered as a medical device. According to the FDA, “a medical device is an implementation, product, apparatus or other component or accessory, which is used in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, prevention of disease or affects any structure of the body.”  That could actually include information technologies and performance technologies since it’s something that is performed on the patient, touches the patient or is performed between physician and patient. Since the FDA has jurisdiction over any device that diagnoses, treats or prevents a disease, the FDA could possibly consider iPhones to be wireless medical devices in the future. Today, iPhone doesn’t meet that definition as a standalone device. But, I would like to know what do you think? Should the FDA have some regulatory jurisdiction over healthcare application developed for the iPhone?

Source: Section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)

Mobile Health Applications

More and more incredible mobile health applications and solutions have been coming to the market so I thought I would share some of these in this post. For example,  iBreath is an app for iPhones that allows users to take an alcohol breath test. Using devices like the iBreath can help prevent you from making a serious mistake in judgment. Well, I was reading an article about a new Plug-In glucose meter, iBGStar, for the iPhone. The iBGStar is designed to allow you to keep track of blood glucose, carbs intake and insulin dose, and manage your diabetes in real time. It connects directly to your iPhone or iPod touch. In addition, the iBGStar Diabetes Manager App will allow data to be easily managed and communicated to healthcare professionals. The device is approximately $80. There is no FDA approval yet though as the iPhone is not considered a medical device.

Source: http://scienceroll.com/2010/09/30/plug-in-glucose-meter-for-the-iphone/

Another cool app for the iPhone is eRoentgen Radiology DX. It  can provide  physicians with a fast way to determine which radiology test is best for a given patient. Roentgen Radiology DX contains a large database of signs, symptoms and diagnoses that can make quick assessments as to which radiology exam is most appropriate. The convenience of using the eRoentgen makes it a valuable tool for health care professionals. Below are some screenshots for the application to see how it works.

Source: http://scienceroll.com/2009/08/22/eroentgen-radiology-for-the-iphone/

And last by not least, a new application for the iPhone has been designed to aid people with poor hearing. The app amplifies everything that is being heard by the microphone and allows the user to set which frequencies to boost and which to filter. It can even replay the last five to thirty seconds of a misheard conversation. This is great for people that are hearing impaired along with others that will become hearing impaired.

Source: http://scienceroll.com/2009/07/12/iphone-hearing-aid

Interesting Gadgets

I spent a little time looking at trends in pharmacy and technology and here are some of the things I found on medgadget.com.

Smarter Pill Bottle Caps

The pharmacy bottle sized cap keep track of when it’s opened and closed. The bottle cap glows when you need to take your medication if you forget. It has been showed to improve daily medication compliance by patients. Here is how it works. When you forget to take your pill, the pharmacy bottle sized caps will remind patients to take their medication by blinking light or playing a regularly repeating ring tone until the cap is opened. In addition, the bottle cap will also send you emails every time you need to take a pill and a monthly report in the mail on how you did. GlowCaps sale at a price $99 and includes the cost of 2G connection. To see a Vitality GlowCaps Demo, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qf7PxbL9ag

onePAC Prescription Packaging

onePAC prescription packaging technology is designed to simplify the distribution and uptake of medications. I think it is as great technology to increase medication adherence and safety. Each onePac package contains the medications you need to take for the entire day and include the time at which to take them. So instead of having multiple pill bottles, onePac group all your medications for a day in one package. It contains the person’s name, day and time of dose, medication names, strengths, picture of the pill, and directions for the patient in how to take the medication. For more information about the onePAC prescription packaging technology, go to http://bit.ly/bfpzSy

 OneTimeRx

It was only a matter of time before texting made its way into healthcare as a viable option as a way to remind patients to take their medications. OnTimeRx medication reminders are helping people remember to take their medication on time. With OnTimeRx you can schedule and receive any kind of message you want. OnTimeRx reminders can be simple, like: "Take your pills now". Or use a more specific message, like: “Time to take your blood pressure medications now.” This service can send reminder calls on your home telephone, mobile phone or by SMS or email.  The OnTimeRx Reminder Software Applications works on your iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm WebOS, or Windows Mobile smart phone or PDA. You can even install the program on your Windows desktop or laptop. For more information about OnTimeRx, go to http://www.ontimerx.com.

What is Pharmacy Informatics?

I found a 20-minute webinar on Pharmacy Informatics for students, new practitioners, or anyone interested in informatics. The recorded webinar can be found below:

Click Here

For more information, there is an online brochure from ASHP at http://www.ashp.org/DocLibrary/MemberCenter/SOPIT/InformaticsBrochure.aspx