Posts Tagged: data conversions

Pharmacy Information System Origins and Evolution

Posted by & filed under Pharmacy.

The art and science of pharmacy traces back to ancient times of the Egyptians and Greeks. Pharmacy was once a subset of medicine, but eventually, they split. The first college of pharmacy was the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, founded in 1821. Louis Dufilho, Jr. was the first licensed pharmacist, opening the first pharmacy in New Orleans. Of course, so much has changed, and technology now plays a huge role in pharmacy operations, specifically the pharmacy information system.

So, what’s the history and evolution of these systems? And what does the modern pharmacy information system look like?

What’s the Purpose of a Pharmacy Information System?

The foundation for a platform is to support the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners’ (JCPP) pharmacist patient care process. It includes five steps: collect, assess, plan, implement, and follow-up. How the technology supports these steps:

  • Collect data as well as store and organize it to have a full patient profile.
  • Assess collected information to provide the best care.
  • Plan strategies to address patient needs.
  • Implement that plan.
  • Follow up with patients on care plans and make adjustments. 

Features of the System: Now and Then

Pharmacy information systems began with a simple user interface and little functionality. They were, however, a giant leap for pharmacists regarding organizing and storing patient data. The biggest challenge most pharmacies had in the early days was switching to another software. Over two decades ago, it was impossible to do this without it being completely manual. InfoWerks actually changed that, completing the first pharmacy data conversion. 

The current market for pharmacy software is large and broad. There are options for almost every type of pharmacy: retail, hospital, LTC, specialty, and more. Pharmacists and technicians use these systems to manage:

  • Prescriptions dispensing and labeling.
  • Patient information and medication history.
  • Physician monitoring.
  • Inventory.
  • Billing and insurance.
  • Pricing structure variables.
  • Reporting. 
  • Clinical screening (i.e., allergies, drug interactions, etc.).
  • Staff and workloads.
  • Compounding and manufacturing.

The newest pharmacy platforms are robust software engines that automate many practices and ensure that you’re always compliant with regulations. It’s become the central location of data, which can be analyzed and evaluated to make better decisions about care and business, in general.

What’s the Future of Pharmacy Information Systems?

Future iterations of these software systems will bring even more functionality. Right now, there’s a push toward interoperability with EHRs, but that same demand applies to pharmacy systems. New tools that are data science related to track data trends and challenges are likely to become prevalent. 

These platforms will also play a role in comprehensive medical management and medication adherence. If pharmacists can proactively view patients at risk of not adhering to the prescription plan, outreach could help. Support from a pharmacist and the prescriber could curb medication nonadherence, which costs the healthcare system millions every year.

Further, the data they collect could also enhance public health initiatives to better understand social determinants of health (SDOH), chronic diseases, and addiction. 

Are You Happy with Your Platform?

With so many options, pharmacies often change up their software. Sometimes it’s due to a lack of functionality. Other times it’s a cost decision. Regardless of why you may be looking to switch, remember you’ll need a HIPAA compliant data conversion. That’s our specialty, with thousands of completed conversions and experience with over 150 systems. Learn more about our pharmacy data conversions today by reading our eBook, The Ultimate Guide to Pharmacy Data Conversions. 

Pharmacy Transition Services: Buying, Selling, and Closing

Posted by & filed under Pharmacy.

pharmacy transition services

Pharmacy is a large enterprise in the U.S. In such a market, hundreds change ownership each year or completely close. The buying, selling, and closing of pharmacies prompt the need for specific services. We define them as pharmacy transition services and include data conversions, analytics, archiving, and print and mail solutions. 

Learn about the solutions we offer for pharmacies in transition.

Acquisition Analytics: Valuate with a Third-Party Report

Before you make a pharmacy purchase, you’ll certainly want to evaluate the operations and profitability. However, sometimes, this view isn’t as transparent as you’d like. Seeing this was a challenge in the industry, we developed Acquisition Analytics. 

We take the selling pharmacy’s data, and create a non-biased report, redacted to follow HIPAA guidelines. The report offers greater visibility around revenue and volume. With this, you can make a better determination of future profitability and the ability to retain patients. 

Data Conversions: Migrating Data to New Platforms

If you’re buying a pharmacy, whether just the patients or the complete location, you’ll likely need a data conversion. Pharmacy data conversions are very common and consist of moving data from one software platform to another. We make them as pain-free as possible with a thorough process that ensures accuracy, security, and compliance.   

Data Archiving: Store Healthcare Records Compliantly

If you’re buying, selling, or closing a pharmacy, you should understand your data archiving options. Patient record retention requirements require you to maintain files for at least seven years, even if they are no longer active. 

If you are buying a pharmacy, you should consider only migrating current records to your software platform. You can archive the rest with a web-based solution that offers easy access and robust security, including encryption and backup. 

If you’re the seller or closing a pharmacy, you may be responsible for maintaining the records as a custodian. It’s too expensive and complicated to keep them on legacy systems. The decision to archive satisfies regulations and is very low-cost.

Print and Mail Services: Tell Patients the News

The previous pharmacy transition services have been data-focused, but you still need communication solutions, too. Our pharmacy print and mail services can take care of spreading the news. We’ll send first-class letters to patients, based on the data in the pharmacy system, notifying them of the pharmacy change. These letters can inform patients no matter the situation. As a buyer, let them know you’ll still be able to serve them. If closing, thank them for their business and direct them to a new provider. They are completely customizable with your branding, maps, and more. 

Further, we have large format and exterior signage capabilities. If you’re closing the purchased location, purchase signage for the old site to point them to the new one. If you’re taking over the store, we can develop a turnkey rebrand package for every signage need.  

Buying, Selling, or Closing in 2021? Let Us Help with the Transition

Is a pharmacy transition in your future? If so, you can trust our pharmacy experts to support you through the journey. Get started by downloading our transition services spec sheet.

Data Cleansing for Healthcare

Posted by & filed under Healthcare.

data cleansing

“Dirty” data is an epidemic in just about every industry. Healthcare is no different. Due to the complexity and regulatory mandates around healthcare data, data cleansing for the vertical is often more urgent and complicated. Data cleaning is a necessity for multiple healthcare data management activities, including data conversions, data arching, and data exchange.

In this post, we’ll be going over what is data cleansing in healthcare and what every organization should know about it.

What Is Data Cleansing?

Simply put, it’s the process of repairing or removing data that’s stale, inaccurate, incorrectly formatted or structured, duplicative, or incomplete. Clean data is integral to healthcare’s ability to execute digital transformation. 

When Does Data Need Cleansing?

Several things can trigger the need for a data cleansing, including:

  • Data conversions: Moving data from one software platform to another is a good time for data cleansing. You can choose to purge stale or inaccurate data if you’re not required to keep it per medical record retention regulations. You may also find that reformatting is necessary because your new system fields are different from the previous ones.
  • Data archiving: When you move patient data to an archive, you also have the opportunity to clean it first. One of the biggest cleanses in these cases is to remove duplicates. When you do this, it’s much easier to find what you need on your archive platform. 
  • Data exchange: Different systems need to share data to support interoperability. However, you can send dirty data to the new system. Well, you could, but it would be very effective or useful. Cleaning the data before you share equates to better outcomes.

Cleansing of Data Often Pushed from Priority

Your healthcare IT team, whether internal or third-party, typically has a full plate, managing infrastructure and improving it. These IT professionals often don’t have time to cleanse data, so it’s never a priority. The problem is that when this doesn’t happen, data gets even dirtier and causes more problems. It can also cause implementations to stall because the data isn’t ready. That costs you time and money.

Outsourcing a data cleanse with companies like InfoWerks ensures that the process is timely, compliant, and accurate. We’re healthcare data experts and know all about how to take dirty data and transform it into clean data. 

Learn More About Data Cleansing Services

If you’re a healthcare entity searching for a comprehensive data clean, talk to our experts about how we can make it pain-free!