THE OUTLOOK: 2013 continued from page 32
Mobile Pharmacy, Mobile Customers
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obile technology is really coming into its own, both for patients and within the pharmacy. This is an area with a tremendous amount of diversity of functionality. The variety can be a little bewildering. What’s best? Text, email, voicemail, push notifications, social media, dedicated apps, or patient portals? iPhone and Android apps or mobile-friendly HTML5 websites? Whatever direction a pharmacy wants to go, vendors are putting a great deal of development effort into this area. For example, according to Michael Ziegler, QS/1 is further developing its Web and mobile apps, including a project to bring full Web service integration for its online refill service options, deploy a Web browser for smartphones, and roll out Android and iPhone apps that
include patient history functionality. Ziegler also reports that QS/1 will publish mobile app and website APIs (application programming interfaces) in 2013. Within the pharmacy itself, there’s the choice between mobile apps designed to be run on consumer-grade hardware on the one hand, such as iPads and Android tablets, and commercial-grade hardware on the other, often seen in delivery and inventory management devices, as well as in the increasingly popular product area of mobile POS. It’s a good situation for pharmacists, since it means that whatever function they want to take on the go with them, they likely have a choice between loading something on a relatively inexpensive consumer device or going for the ruggedness of commercial hardware.
Summing up the Outlook
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Rx-Net tm Can Help
T
he year 2013 promises to be a lively one in pharmacy technology, and in healthcare in general. Ateb’s Steve Roberts sees a busy year for both technology vendors and pharmacies, as the focus on patient adherence increases and the implications of healthcare reform become clearer. Overall, the technology vendors remain optimistic. It will be a year in which community pharmacy has the opportunity to become a strategic point-of-service location for healthcare, according to HBS’ Marty Spellman. “Where pharmacies historically have been a medication point of pickup,” he says, “improving technology will allow pharmacists more patient face time to deliver truly managed care and better outcomes, while improving loyalty.” And returning to the impact of healthcare reform: “2013 will be a good year for pharmacies,” says Epicor’s Keith Lam, “but the surge of new customers will not come until 2014, when the Affordable Care Act’s new exchanges and individual mandates bring new customers into the healthcare system.” So pharmacies will want to take time now to consider the latest technologies out there, strategize, and lay the groundwork for success both in the year ahead and in a new world of healthcare.
Visit the Exclusive Web Content section of www.computertalk.com for details on specific new solutions and enhancements to look for in 2013. CT
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ComputerTalk
Will Lockwood is senior editor at ComputerTalk. He can be reached at will@computertalk.com.