Mobile tools in Pharmacy Practice

1. Improving Pharmacy Practice
……..the use of mobile tools
Samuel Esther (B. Pharm)
19th May, 2020

2. Objectives
At the end of this presentation, pharmacists should
Understand the concept of mobile health
Know the various databases and tools needed for informed clinical
decisions
Know the mobile tools for improving productivity in the workplace
Appreciate the application of these mobile tools in efficient practice
Resolve to begin or continue to apply these tools in order to become
more effective and productive.
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3. Outline
• Introduction
• The concept of Mobile health (mHealth)
• Pharmacy databases
• Application of mobile tools in Pharmacy Practice
• Productivity tools
• Mobile communication
• Conclusion
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4. Introduction
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• The future is now…..

5. Introduction
• In Nigeria, between 25 to 40 million people use a smartphone and
this figure is expected to go beyond 140 million by 2025.[1]
• About 81% of Americans use a smartphone[2].
• Advances in technology has necessitated the evolution of healthcare
practice.
• These ongoing advances in technology and healthcare should have
pharmacists develop skills that can improve patient care through
more efficient communication of information.
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6. Introduction
• As technology and healthcare advances, pharmacists should
familiarize themselves with:
• the concept of mobile health,
• pharmacy databases and;
• productivity tools.
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7. The Concept of Mobile Health (mHealth)
• The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the
Global Observatory for eHealth, has defined mHealth as “medical and
public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile
phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants
(PDAs), and other wireless devices” [3].
• Some mHealth devices are mobile applications pre-loaded with
information available at the touch of a fingertip and others require
additional devices to be “clipped” or “fitted” onto the mobile phone
itself to become a diagnostic tool.
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8. Mobile health (mHealth)
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• Mobile Health has come to stay globally so pharmacists must equip
themselves.

9. Importance of mHealth
• There are mHealth devices for the following:
Wireless blood pressure monitoring
pulse oximetry
 etc.
• mHealth apps can assist pharmacists:
to keep up-to-date patient profiles,
to receive patient specific adherence data,
to maintain adequate pharmacy stock for the needs of their patients,
etc.
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10. Pharmacy Databases
• Pharmacy databases are interactive computer programs, web sites or
other tools that are designed to assist clinicians with decision making
tasks, usually at the point of care.
• They contain unbiased, referenced information about drugs,
toxicology, diseases, acute care and alternative medicines.
• Informed decisions are possible with the aid of these tools.
• There are over 50 of these kind of tools.
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11. Categories of Pharmacy Databases
1. Drug References
• Micromedex
• Natural Medicines
• AHFS Clinical Drug Reference from LexiComp
• Drug Facts and Comparisons
• Clinical Pharmacology
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12. Categories of Pharmacy Databases (cont’d)
2. Drug and Disease state references
• Access Pharmacy
• ClinicalKey
• UpToDate
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13. Categories of Pharmacy Databases (cont’d)
3. Literature Search
• PubMed
• EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Database)
• International Pharmaceutical Abstracts
• Cochrane Library
• Web of Science
• Scopus
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14. Categories of Pharmacy Databases (cont’d)
4. Guidelines
• ECRI Institute
• Trip Pro
• Essential Evidence Plus
• DynaMed Plus
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15. Categories of Pharmacy Databases (cont’d)
• Others
• Epocrates
• MedScape
• Pocket Pharmacists
• iPharmacy
• Pharmacy Lab Values
• MPR
• Drugs.com
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16. Application of mobile tools for pharmacy
practice
• Drug information
• Calculators
• Online ordering of prescription items
• Reminders to take medicines
• Quality management systems
• Dispensing records
• Medicines availability
• Patient information repository
• Mobile communication
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17. Drug information
• Clinical reference texts and drug databases are increasingly available
via mobile devices (e.g., smartphone, tablet computer, etc.). Many of
these resources are also available on desktop computers and as
printed reference texts.
• Functionality of the apps typically includes searches for drug
indications, dosages, contraindications, interactions, adverse drug
reactions, availability, etc.
• Examples: Micromedex, Lexicomp, Medscape, MIMS, BNF , etc
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18. Calculators
• Clinical calculators are intended to guide clinical decision-making,
such as for drug dosing of drugs with a narrow therapeutic index (e.g.
vancomycin or phenytoin dosing), or clinical indicators (such as
creatinine clearance).
• Many come as a tool in some drug information apps.
• Examples: QxMD, Lexicomp, ClinCalc Medical Calculator
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19. Online ordering of prescription items
• Patients are able to order prescriptions through medicines
management apps. In locations where electronic prescriptions are
available, such apps can allow these prescriptions to be dispensed
and supplied, often through distance supply (e.g., mail order).
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20. Reminders to take medicines
• Apps may provide reminders to patients to take medicines at
prescribed times, often through links to the medicine profile or
reminders set up by the pharmacy.
• They may also include functionality for the patient to denote that the
medicine has been taken.
• This can provide a useful record of medicines use for consideration by
pharmacists and prescribers.
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21. Direct messaging
• Pharmacists can send messages to patients via a secure app, either as
an individual direct message or via a mailing list to a larger group. This
functionality can be used for a variety of purposes such as:
Communicating medicines safety information (e.g., a drug recall);
Marketing of pharmacy products or services;
Responding to patients’ queries or concerns;
Providing quality use of medicines messages, such as advice regarding media
stories involving medicines; and
Communication of opening hours during holiday periods
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22. Documentation
• Prescription records, dispensing records, medication history, etc
• Centralized mHealth models can be used to keep patient records.
Data generated from multiple tools can be centralized by
governments and used for health-related budgets.
• For example, records of prescriptions can be used to evaluate the
consumption of drugs and, hence, allocate adequate budget for it
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23. Quality management systems
• mHealth extends to activities which support the safe and effective
operation of community and hospital pharmacies. Functionality can
include reporting of incidents, and monitoring of business and quality
indicators.
• Applications like this enable the pharmacy manger to evaluate
performance using several indicators and monitor market trends. This
will enable him to make informed decisions.
• Example: Sifarma Safety app
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24. Dispensing records
• Synchronization of pharmacy dispensing records with patients via
mobile apps provides them with the opportunity to view important
information about dispensed medicines via mobile devices, e.g., date
of dispensing, medicine dispensed and dose of medicine.
• This will curtail drug abuse, facilitate quick resolution of dispenser-
level drug therapy problems.
• In addition, medication history will allow pharmacists to make
informed clinical decisions.
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25. Medicines availability
• There are mobile tools which provide information to pharmacists
about medicines availability, shortages and alternative treatments.
Drug shortages affect daily practice and it is important for
pharmacists to be able to access this information easily and quickly.
• Examples: Drug Shortages, Orange Book, Food Safety Alerts & Tips,
FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals & Safety Alerts
• These will reduce the occurrence of “out-of-stock” ,expiry of stock on
the shelves.
• Recalls can be made more effectively.
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26. Patient information repository
• Some apps provide pharmacists with patient health information and
patient prescription histories. Many institutions have their own
specific app which contains patient medical records.
• These apps allow pharmacists to have access to the patient’s medical
information when computers are not available or convenient to use.
• Examples: Epic Haiku, MySNS Wallet, Patient Portal, Care360 Mobile
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27. Productivity tools
• These are non-clinical tools that pharmacists can use to improve their
productivity. They are useful for:
Time management
Task management
Documentation and note taking
Cloud storage and document storage
Mobile communication
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28. Time and Task Management
• Time and task tracking helps to ease the day.
• Pharmacists can upload meetings and appointments to their calendar.
• Schedule reminders for messaging of patients
• You might have to keep simple lists or note-planners at hand to refer
to throughout the day.
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29. Documentation
• Several applications have made note taking and documentation
easier.
• Pharmacists can document interventions, adverse reactions, common
queries etc.
• They can also carry out pharmacovigilance, post-market surveillance
and so on by easier and faster documentation of feedback from
patients
• Minutes of meetings can also be documented using mobile
applications as well.
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30. Cloud Storage and Document Sharing
• Cloud storage allows files to be stored online for future retrieval.
• This is necessary especially for cases when files are destroyed or
devices get missing.
• iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive
• This makes retrieval convenient and easy.
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31. Mobile Communication
• G-mail, Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook etc. have become tools for
communication now in the 21st century.
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32. Mobile Communication
• Telegram: Webinars and meetings are held online.
• LinkedIn: This is useful for professional networking, employers posting
jobs and job seekers posting CVs.
• Zoom, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Team for webinars and video
conferencing.
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33. Conclusion
• If pharmacists must maintain their role in provision of healthcare,
they must become familiar with these tools.
• One of the skills of a pharmacist is lifelong learning; it’s never too late
to begin.
• As the climes are changing, we must adapt to the changing times.
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34. References
1. https://www.statista.com/statistics/467187/forecast-of-
smartphone-users-in-nigeria/
2. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/
3. International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). mHealth — Use of
mobile health tools in pharmacy practice. The Hague, International
Pharmaceutical Federation, 2019.
4. “Pharmacy Databases: The Untapped Tools for Best Clincal Practice”
by Ibrahim Bello PharmD, MSc Cl. Pharm, FPCPharm.
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35. Thankyouforlistening
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