APPLICATION OF COMPUTER IN HOSPITAL OR COMMUNITY PHARMACY
Q) Why computer is important in the field of Pharmacy?
The computer has become a very common tool in all areas of science and technology. With the proliferation of the
Internet and the developments in computer technology and manufacturing, the ratio of price to performance of
computers continues to decrease. This has resulted in the development of number of computer applications.
In Pharmacy field, effective use of computers started from 1980. Since then there is great demand of computers in
pharmacy field. The field of pharmacy has immensely benefited by the use of computer and will continue to benefit
as the pharmacist's gain more familiarity with computer. Some of the important areas where computers are useful
are new drug discovery, drug design, analysis, manufacturing of drugs and hospital pharmacy. Other than these,
computers helps pharmacist collaborate with other professionals, which is very essential in today's research work.
It also provides solutions for time consuming manual task. Various hardware and software’s have been developed
without which drug discovery, designing, manufacturing and analyzing would become virtually impossible. Further
development is still in progress which will make pharmacist's job easier.
The more important fact is that they will enable us to discover new drugs for the complete care of dangerous of
diseases like aids, cancer etc. and reduce the cost of production of drugs for diseases which are easily cured.
Computers are also useful for hospital pharmacist and in telemedicine. A lot has been done and a still has to be done
for improving the computer facilities for pharmacist.
Applications of computer in Pharmacy
1. Prescription filling: Patient name, doctor name, drug name, quantity, prescription number; prints the label,
calculates the price, discount, etc.
2. Prescription Refilling: Pharmacist enter data regarding the prescription if data not available to avoid any warning
message appears if the prescription is out of data
3. E_ Prescribing E-prescriptions 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.
4. Prescription Processing: 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.
Both the customer service side of pharmacy operation and the dispensing aspect are today carried out through the use
of computing systems.
Pharmacy computers also handle customer service activities such as sales and cash handling within the retail
operation.
5. Patient Counseling: Pharmacist 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
6. Patient Profile: Pharmacist can updated 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
7. Drug-drug interactions: There is program regarding this point, this provided from many vendors offer programs
for drug interaction. The pharmacist must check the patient’s profile and prescription to determined if there is
interaction
8. Tax and Insurance Reports: This point must be asked to do, so the pharmacist can print the data for medical
expense. Listing the information patient needs to file tax return or insurance claims
9. Third Party Programs: The pharmacist enters the patient’s identification number for verification and updating,
thereby reducing the possibility for error and often speeding the payment procedure
10. Nursing Home Reports: Some information must be added by nursing home administrators, including physician
order sheet, unit dose filling profile, medication administration records, and consultant pharmacist evaluation
11. Accounts Receivable: This offer from vendor of computerized data processing. In most systems the account can be
aged may 30 or 60 or day
12. Pricing Formulas: The program is available for select specific formulas for pricing medication. It include
stander structure for pricing
13. Control Substance Records: This for controlled substance items that order during period, along with quantities and
dosages
Q) Why computer is important in the field of Pharmacy?
The computer has become a very common tool in all areas of science and technology. With the proliferation of the
Internet and the developments in computer technology and manufacturing, the ratio of price to performance of
computers continues to decrease. This has resulted in the development of number of computer applications.
In Pharmacy field, effective use of computers started from 1980. Since then there is great demand of computers in
pharmacy field. The field of pharmacy has immensely benefited by the use of computer and will continue to benefit
as the pharmacist's gain more familiarity with computer. Some of the important areas where computers are useful
are new drug discovery, drug design, analysis, manufacturing of drugs and hospital pharmacy. Other than these,
computers helps pharmacist collaborate with other professionals, which is very essential in today's research work.
It also provides solutions for time consuming manual task. Various hardware and software’s have been developed
without which drug discovery, designing, manufacturing and analyzing would become virtually impossible. Further
development is still in progress which will make pharmacist's job easier.
The more important fact is that they will enable us to discover new drugs for the complete care of dangerous of
diseases like aids, cancer etc. and reduce the cost of production of drugs for diseases which are easily cured.
Computers are also useful for hospital pharmacist and in telemedicine. A lot has been done and a still has to be done
for improving the computer facilities for pharmacist.
Applications of computer in Pharmacy
1. Prescription filling: Patient name, doctor name, drug name, quantity, prescription number; prints the label,
calculates the price, discount, etc.
2. Prescription Refilling: Pharmacist enter data regarding the prescription if data not available to avoid any warning
message appears if the prescription is out of data
3. E_ Prescribing E-prescriptions 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.
4. Prescription Processing: 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.
Both the customer service side of pharmacy operation and the dispensing aspect are today carried out through the use
of computing systems.
Pharmacy computers also handle customer service activities such as sales and cash handling within the retail
operation.
5. Patient Counseling: Pharmacist 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
6. Patient Profile: Pharmacist can updated 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
7. Drug-drug interactions: There is program regarding this point, this provided from many vendors offer programs
for drug interaction. The pharmacist must check the patient’s profile and prescription to determined if there is
interaction
8. Tax and Insurance Reports: This point must be asked to do, so the pharmacist can print the data for medical
expense. Listing the information patient needs to file tax return or insurance claims
9. Third Party Programs: The pharmacist enters the patient’s identification number for verification and updating,
thereby reducing the possibility for error and often speeding the payment procedure
10. Nursing Home Reports: Some information must be added by nursing home administrators, including physician
order sheet, unit dose filling profile, medication administration records, and consultant pharmacist evaluation
11. Accounts Receivable: This offer from vendor of computerized data processing. In most systems the account can be
aged may 30 or 60 or day
12. Pricing Formulas: The program is available for select specific formulas for pricing medication. It include
stander structure for pricing
13. Control Substance Records: This for controlled substance items that order during period, along with quantities and
dosages
