The Importance of Computers in Pharmacy

History of Computer Application in Pharmacy

 As with most health-care processes, pharmacy
operations have been significantly changed by the
advent of digital and computing technology.
 Computers are used for various tasks within a
pharmacy, both in terms of how pharmaceutical
personnel carry out their duties and handle
patients.
 Pharmacy computing systems make use of
resources, such as the Internet, although many
pharmacies use custom-made software systems
to carry out their daily activities
 History of Computer Application in
Pharmacy
 First commercial system was introduced in 1950;
 It was large need large floor space ( vacuum
tubes, more difficult part composition
 Second computer technology in 1960
 It became smaller
 It more compact economically and it was used
by major businesses
 remained too expensive
 History of Computer Application in
Pharmacy
 In 1970 the it was used by
 Wholesales drugs
 pharmaceutical manufactures
 drug stores, drugs data for businesses
 In 1980 Fourth generation of computers,
 It became reach of the retail pharmacy
 Then, the computer develop the micro processing
“chip”
 more chips →→ it produced low cost
 Right now computers and pharmacy go hand in hand.
Areas Where Computer can be Used in Pharmacy Field
The following are the areas where computer
can be used in pharmacy
Computer is mandatory in this advanced era
and pharmacy and related subjects are not
exception Computer science and technology is
deeply utilized in pharmacy field everywhere
like in;
 Areas Where Computer can be Used
in Pharmacy Field
Pharmacy Train Institutions
 Computers have revolutionized the way education is
handled in the today’s world.
 In pharmaceutical education, computers are particularly
useful because there is such a need for learning and
presenting different pharmaceutical information.
 The field of medicine often relies on complex definitions of
conditions and procedural techniques.
 If you are an educator, you can use the computer to show
your students PowerPoint presentations that simplify the
large amounts of text often needed in medical science.
 Stick to the basics in the visual presentations.
 You also may use computers to present video data of different drug
strictures or for slide shows of diseases or traumas and their
treatments
Pharmaceutical Industries,
 A further refinement of new drug design and production was
provided by the process of computer-aided design (CAD).
 With the availability of powerful computers and sophisticated
graphics software, it is possible for the medicinal chemist to design
new molecules and evaluate their effectiveness.
 The more important fact is that the computer will enable
pharmaceutical personnel to discover new drugs for the complete
care of dangerous diseases like aids, cancer etc. and reduce the cost
of production of drugs for diseases which are easily cured
Pharmaceutical Research Centers
• Computers are playing critical role
pharmaceutical research in collecting,
analyzing data, write the findings, format a
paper for publication, find relevant studies on
the Internet or print posters for medical
conferences. In short without computers
pharmacy research will be long-lasting and
expensive
Hospital and Clinical pharmacy
 Hospital pharmacy is division of hospital which
monitors on the receiving and allotment of drugs and
medicines and professional supplies, stores them and
dispenses to inpatient, outpatient and may have a
manufacturing extension to manufacture
pharmaceutical
 Clinical pharmacist may use computers for therapeutic
drug monitoring; which are very potent and having
very narrow therapeutic range like cardiac glycosides,
anticonvulsants. Computer program are designed to
calculate drug dosage to suit individual patients need
Wholesale /retail pharmacy shop-
 Computers are used by community pharmacy for
various functions.
 Some accounting functions are like preparation of
prescription label, providing a receipt for patient,
generation a hard copy record of transactions,
calculating total prescription cost, automatically
ordering the low quantity products via electronic
transitions, preparation of annual withholding
payrolls
 Use of Computer in Dispensing
 Dispensing refers to the process of preparing and
giving medicine to a named person on the basis
of a prescription.
 It involves the correct interpretation of the
wishes of the pre scriber and the accurate
preparation and labeling of medicine for use by
the patient.
 This process may take place in a public or private
clinic, health center, hospital, or in community
pharmacy setting.
 It is carried out by many different kinds of people
with a variety of training and back grounds.
 No matter where dispensing is done or who does it,
any error or failure in the dispensing process can
seriously affect the care of the patient
 Computer can do anything you want it to do. The
pharmacy departments/ owner can choose which
services he wants and needs, thereby tailoring his data
processing system to his own budgetary
considerations.
 The pharmacy department/ owner should let the
pharmacy’s needs determine the criteria for which
services will be offered.
The following is List of some Available Services which
can be done through computers in dispensing
 Prescription Filling-Patient name, doctor name, drug
name, quantity, prescription number; prints the label,
calculates the price
• Prescription Refilling- Pharmaceutical personnel enter
data regarding the prescription if data not available to
avoid any warning message appears if the prescription
is out of data
• E_ Prescribing- are computer-generated prescriptions
created by healthcare provider and sent directly to
pharmacy. E-prescriptions are sent electronically
through a private, secure, and closed network.
 Prescription processing is invariably one of the main activities going
on within a pharmacy on a day-to-day basis, and computers are
used to make this process more reliable and efficient.
 Patient Counseling - Pharmaceutical personnel can print counseling
handout, prescription label and invoice. Also handout contains any
information the patient might need to know regarding precautions
or side effects of the medication
 Patient Profile Pharmaceutical personnel can update patient profile
whenever a new prescription is filled. Also if the patient might have
any symptoms like allergies, it should be added to patient profile
 Drug-drug interactions-some computer program offer programs for
drug interaction and this help the pharmaceutical personnel to
check the patient’s profile and prescription to determine if there is
interaction
 Stock movement reports. This depends on how
much of drugs taken from previous inventory and
helps to know the goods move fast or slow, also
provide information for pricing decisions and
judges for entire store's performance.
 Electronic Order Entry. Now the wholesalers
provide for other pharmacies interface with their
central computers to order new medications.
Also pharmacy’s employees take inventory of the
shelf stock using optical scanner to read and
record product codes and quantities
• Daily and Monthly Log. Computer program can
provide a pharmacy with a timely, precise review
of prescriptions broken out into prescription
number, patient type, gross profit margins and
other information.
• Management Reports -There is a lot of different
types of reports can help the pharmacy manager
in his practice and his business. These like,
accounting, payroll administration, cost and
financial analysis market analysis, budgeting,
sales forecasting and investment analysis.
Communication - Computers are used within
pharmacies to facilitate communication. From
email to other Internet-based messaging
systems, online communication allows
pharmaceutical personnel and other health
staff to keep in contact both within their
own/out the organization.
Advantage and Disadvantage of Using
Computers in Pharmacy
The Following are Advantages of Using Computer in Pharmacy
 The biggest advantage that can be achieved by computers is
enhanced efficiency.
 Customer Time Savings. Computers speed the efficiency of
dropping off and picking up prescriptions.
 Improving Patient Compliance. Community pharmacies can use
their computer systems and direct patient access to deliver a
quality and breadth of patient care unavailable anywhere else
 Enhanced patient safety is of great significance. They can avoid
illegible hand writing, can be programmed to find errors in dosage,
medication name, medication interactions, and identifying allergic
patients or the wrong patient
The Following are Disadvantages of Using Computer in
Pharmacy

 Hacking
 One disadvantage of using computers anywhere, let alone in a local
pharmacy, is that they're susceptible to being hacked. By hacking a
pharmacy's computer, one may be able to see a customer's medical
history, address and other confidential information.
 Training
 A downside to computers is that when such technology is
introduced into a work environment, the employees there need to
be able to properly use it. This requires training, which can take
time and cost money
 Vulnerable to viruses and technical problems that risk may lead to
loss of data unless backed up
 Sometimes increase the amount of time needed to get work done
example;Downtime, system failure and inflexibility
The Following are Disadvantages of Using
Computer in Pharmacy
Cost and space issues
It need money to buy the computer
equipment or some times to install computer
software and maintenance
 space is needed for keeping the computers
equipment’s