Organization making the most of telepharmacy
Focus on efficiency, convenience
Hospital systems and academic medical centers that are considering adopting telepharmacy might follow these tips:
• Invest in the right equipment: While it may be more convenient to use computer video for telepharmacy conferences, the technology isn't advanced enough yet to create the same sort of smooth streaming that's available through the more expensive televideo conferencing equipment, such as the Provideo high-definition home theater equipment sold through Provideo Inc. of Washington, DC, says R. William Soller, PhD, executive director of the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) Center for Consumer Self Care, and a clinical professor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy.
"It's like a telephone with a great screen on it," Soller says. "The cost range is $3,000 to $10,000 for that machine."
Another option is to use a camera connected to the computer. Users could download Skype (www.skype.com) for free. This software provides higher-quality PC video resolution, Soller says.
When pharmacists use the camera-PC system they should keep in mind that they need to talk directly to the camera and not to the monitor, Soller notes.
"The inclination is to look right at the screen, but their eyes should look at the camera," he adds.
• Telepharmacy can be simple web-based education or video meetings: "When you look at telemedicine, it's almost anything that's electronic," Soller says. "So for California Blue Shield beneficiaries we have web-based questions, and we write answers for them, and that's telepharmacy."
Another strategy is to provide follow-up disease management via technology.
Not one size fits all, so health care organizations might combine nursing call centers with telepharmacy to provide the optimal medication management for patients with chronic illnesses, Soller suggests.
For instance, a hospital with satellite clinics might use telepharmacy to provide pharmacy-patient appointments to improve medication adherence among chronically ill patients seen at the satellite clinic, he says.
• Keep in mind that telepharmacy is about the pharmacist-patient relationship: When pharmacists are employed to improve patient adherence to medication regimens, it's the relationship with the pharmacist that is the most important factor, Soller says.
"Ultimately, it is the perceived relationship that has been identified by the patient that has been helpful in motivating because you're conveying confidence, trust, empathy, and all of those factors play together in the decision," Soller says. "From the patient's perspective, the question is, 'Am I going to step forward and make a change because the person on the other end is going to be there to help coach me?'"
And this relationship can still be strong even if it's through a video monitor.
"I've had patients stop our clinical pharmacist and say, 'How nice to see you,' and they recognize him from the video conferencing," Soller says.
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