In the infancy of telepharmacy, Perspectives in Health Information Management stated that “Telepharmacy may have significant potential to transform the delivery of pharmaceutical services.” Since then, a worldwide pandemic has emerged and accelerated the adoption of telehealth disciplines, including telepharmacy. In an age when the pharmacist role has evolved to one centered on patient relations and caregiving team collaboration, it’s impossible for pharmacists to be everywhere they are needed at once. This is where Hospital Pharmacy Management, Inc. and telepharmacy can be an enormous benefit. We provide the infrastructure and efficiency your pharmacists need while delivering substantial, tangible advantages that improve patient care.

Benefits for Patients

Patients experience numerous benefits in a telepharmacy setting. One of the most obvious advantages is the simple convenience of not having to be physically present to receive services from their pharmacy or pharmacist. In the time of COVID-19, this applies particularly to individuals with particular underlying medical conditions that increase their risk for severe illness. Telepharmacy helps people in this situation to receive quality pharmacy services without increasing their risk of exposure. Telepharmacy can also encourage care teams to collaborate more freely ensuring recommended prescriptions are accurate and filled correctly. In the past, this collaboration wasn’t always possible, especially in the case of emergency services or rural areas where access to pharmacies is limited. Now, with the help of telehealth, pharmacies are showing a decrease in preventable adverse drug events (PADEs), and fewer prescribing errors overall. 

Benefits for Physicians

While many of the advantages of telepharmacy apply directly to patients, healthcare providers and physicians can benefit as well. For example, not all hospitals offer 24-hour pharmacy services. A survey conducted by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy found that roughly one-third of American hospitals lack 24-hour coverage. Other hospitals provide 24-hour coverage but with reduced overnight staffing. Telepharmacy can provide after-hours support to hospitals that take the former approach and/or provide surge support for hospitals that take the latter approach. For doctors, 24-hour telepharmacy makes collaborating with pharmacists easier allowing them to provide better care for their patients. 

‍Benefits for Pharmacists

For pharmacists, telepharmacy brings together a diverse team of pharmaceutical professionals with varied specialties, training and levels of experience. This offers team members a unique opportunity to increase their knowledge base with peer-to-peer learning. In addition, telepharmacy practices have opened up more job opportunities and enabled pharmacists to have a greater impact as essential members of a care team.

Why Telepharmacy Should be Your Solution

The many advantages of telepharmacy operations are increasingly making it an important part of quality healthcare. Studies show that pharmacies using telepharmacy services are more likely to detect medication dispensing errors during a final medication check than at standard pharmacies. This helps to decrease preventable adverse drug events (PADEs). Optimizing existing pharmacy resources is a cost-effective choice of using telepharmacy. One that allows organizations to achieve more with existing staff by increasing utilization and efficiency by up to 25-30%. Additionally, telepharmacy can increase job satisfaction among pharmacists, nurses, physicians and patients. Increase pharmacy coverage, reduce turnaround times and provide meaningful interventions with Hospital Pharmacy Management, Inc. Contact us today to see how we can help your hospital succeed.