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/