New tool for Healthcare Professionals to educate patients about cardiovascular diseases and treatments: CardioTeach™ iPad® app

Boston Scientific Corporation designed CardioTeach™ app to be available for free in the Apple App Store. This app is an educational resource to help healthcare professionals better educate patients and caregivers about therapy options related to cardiovascular and peripheral diseases, specifically atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, heart failure, heart rhythm disorders and peripheral vascular disease.

Application Features

• Allows healthcare providers to educate from their iPad at the moment a patient has a question.
• Explain common coronary, rhythm, and peripheral conditions and the procedures used to treat them
• Mark-up anatomical illustrations with cardiac devices, such as pacemakers and lead wires; place notes anywhere on a page for emphasis or clarification
• Attach completed graphics to email for patients, caregivers, and clinicians
• Mobile Education: Patients receive personalized cardiovascular education from anywhere, at any time
• Patient Satisfaction: make informed decisions about cardiovascular therapy options
• Patient Compliance: understand compliance and adherence requirements and living with cardiovascular treatment

More information available at: http://www.bostonscientific.com/cardiac-rhythm-resources/campaign/CardioTeach.html?

Apps developed to help soldiers to wrestle with their mental disorders

The pentagon to help the increased number of veterans, that are receiving mental health care, developed apps to assist them to lead with their mental disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. Some of those apps are the PTSD Coach mobile app that is a winner of the 2011 Federal Communications Commission Chairman’s Awards for advancement in accessibility; Breathe2Relax, T2 MoodTracker and Tactical Breather. The apps were developed to assist Veterans and Active Duty personnel, including civilians that work for the Department of Defense who are experiencing symptoms of PTSD.

These apps were intended to be used as an adjunct to psychological treatment but can also serve as a stand-alone education tools. The apps allow the users to make Self-assessment of PTSD symptoms with individualized feedback, track changes in symptoms over time; manage symptoms providing coping skills and assistance for common kinds of posttraumatic stress symptoms and problems, including systematic relaxation and self-help techniques. Also some of this app provided assistance to found immediate support such as quick link to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.

Is important to mention that the apps assessment does not formally diagnose PTSD or any other mental disorder and although these techniques were developed primarily for the warfighter during intense combat situations, anyone can benefit from the ideas taught in this application to help with nearly any stressful situation in life.

More application’s info available at: http://t2health.org/mobile-apps 

Picture from Google image

Exploring the impact of an automated prescriptionfilling device on community pharmacy technician workflow

This article explores changes in pharmacy technician dispensing duties as a result of robot implementation with emphasis in aspect of efficiency in workflow sequences. The study conclude that the Robotic dispensing systems can increase technician prescription-filling efficiency based on overall, but to get a completed advantage from the automation is necessary anticipate and made staffing adjustments.

In the study is mentioned that previous studies have shown reductions in medication errors and higher prescription volumes with fewer technical dispensing tasks being performed by pharmacists. Also is mentioned that this illustrated the possibility of automated dispensing systems eliminate the need to hire additional support staff.
How do you see the Robotic dispensing systems as a professional tool or as technician replacement?
Would the pharmacy profession be affected at some moment in time?

Looking options to update the work system in the pharmacy

      Hello everyone here is one of the many options that are now available at the market to update the pharmacy work system. PioneerRx is windows-based ground-breaking pharmacy software. Some features are the Apple iPad Signature Capture, Email/Text Customer Notification, Hard Copy Imaging Workflow and more. The creator of PioneerRX Pharmacy software now designed a PioneerRx Counseling app specifically for iPad®.  This PioneerRx Counseling app was created to make the counseling process more efficient, by spending less time in paper work, looking patient information.  This app allow the pharmacist to get the patient medication history, drug information, and Pharmex warnings and displayed in one convenient, easy-to-maneuver location and are pulled from the pharmacy’s database.
      PioneerRX Pharmacy Software are intended to provide innovative technology to improve the pharmacist  workflow and eventually improving the patient services.   Among many others innovations are the PioneerRx Drive Thru, PioneerRx Signature this is an iPad electronic signature capture.  Also is expected in this fall 2011 the new PioneerRx Mobile Delivery app for iPhone designed to process credit cards, track controlled substances, and scan barcodes.  PioneerRx Mobile Delivery will simplify the way you deliver to patients. This app allows pharmacists to:

• Complete Transactions - Allows all transactions to be completed.
• Accept Payments - Supports magnetic card reading using a custom fit case. Allows accept all forms of payment, including credit cards. Supports magnetic card reading using a custom fit case.
• Scan Barcodes - Allows retail and prescription items to be scanned using the barcode scanner. Displays scanned items on the screen and store them in your PioneerRx database.
• Controlled Substance Compliance - Prompts for state mandated information about the patient. Use the magnetic card reader to store information from the patient’s ID.
• Email Verification - Enables emailing a detailed receipt of the delivery transaction to your patient.

Health Information Technology—Results From a Roundtable Discussion

By the increasing volume of available clinical data the Health information technology (HIT) tools was created to help patients, Health professionals, and health plans to understand and use the data to its fullest potential. The introduction of HIT, such as e-prescribing and electronic health records, holds great promise for addressing many of the barriers to effective healthcare management. This article reviewed various barriers surrounding the implementation of HIT in the United States and potential drivers that will influence the use of e-prescribing and EHR. Some of those barriers to the adoption of HIT in the United States are the high costs of the technology, general resistance to change, misaligned incentives, and the fractured payment system. The Authors concludes that is expected that the adoption rate of this technology will increase through public and private incentives for using HIT. They also mentioned the need for further studies to obtain data to support improvements in quality of care and cost reductions that accompany HIT adoption.

Available at: http://prod.amcp.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=13811

Personalized health monitoring at home for Independent Elderly

       Intel.GE Company has created the Care Innovations™ Guide, this is a comprehensive virtual care coordination system that connects patients and their care teams for personalized healthcare management at home. This system was created having in mind the patients with chronic conditions, their caregiver as well as their health provider.  The Care Innovations™ Guide engages and empowers patients to take a more active and positive role in their own care. Some futures of this system are:

• Interactive patient health sessions: These sessions enable the patient to measure their vital signs by a connection of the device to certain models of medical equipment such as blood pressure monitors, glucose meters, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters and weight scales. Also allow the patient to respond to health assessment questions, receive educational information, motivational messages, and complete surveys information that can then be made available to authorized healthcare professionals to help assess the patient's health status.
• Multimedia educational library: Provides a variety of multimedia content, including text, audio, and video.
• Two-way video calls: An integrated video camera allows healthcare professionals to arrange and conduct two-way video calls with their patients.
• Vital sign devices and measurements: numerous wired and wireless vital sign devices have been tested and validated to ensure interoperability.
• Audio and visual notifications: Patients are notified of scheduled sessions with an audible tone and with visual cues that include on-screen reminders and a flashing light. 
• Patient-centered design: based on years of research to understand the needs of patients and, in particular, the needs of the aging population. 
• Several key elements in The Guide: large touch-screen interactive display, integrated audio and video, large buttons and graphics to help reduce errors, icons tested for usability.

http://www.careinnovations.com/Products/HealthGuide/PHS6000Benefits.aspx
Picture from Google image