Workflow technology is constantly evolving. Here are some details on the latest enhancements that vendors have added to their offerings.

Debbie Sheppard, Ateb We've added pseudoephedrine tracking to our SignatureLine product and a new drive-thru and home delivery module for electronic signature collection away from the pharmacy countertop.

Sandy Walsh-Birdseye, Cerner Etreby We've added additional virtual work bins or queues, such as "file only" and "pre-authorized refills." There are customization options that let users determine when the system signals their robotic dispensing to fill scripts, per their pharmacy's preferences. The quality assurance process has also been enhanced with exclusive features that add greater safety, control, and efficiency to the pharmacy operations.

Steven Hess, HBS (an SXC Company) We've added detailed production reporting and generic product identifier (GPI) code match-acceptance.

Larry Stephenson, HCC Our latest enhancements are integrated, sophisticated bin-management reporting to better enable cashiers and clerks to locate prescription orders in busy pharmacies. Another enhancement matches up the transactional information with the video stream from our EZ-Vue DVR application so that video footage can be linked to each part of the dispensing process, including the POS transaction with the patient. We've also added enhanced imaging, so that captured prescription images may be enlarged on the screen, and a single operator mode that allows bar-code verification of the prescription and visual review of the original prescription order.

Mary Reno, Innovation Associates We've expanded our capabilities in document handling to scan both sides of documents at the same time. We also added features for managing the scanning, storage, and retrieval of virtually any document type, including prescriptions, insurance information, and identification documents. We have introduced interfaces to a totally new counting device called the Eyecon, improved the integration with our ROBOTx systems, and added new features to centrally manage piece weights for scales. We have improved support for tracking 340b prescriptions. There are also new features that improve visibility of problem prescriptions and a new communications module for tracking interactions with patients and providers when these problems are addressed. There is also new support for tracking and handling groups of prescriptions, and interfaces to point-of-sale and shipping systems.

Louie Foster, Integra Version 4.0 DocuTrack now offers enhanced triage and workflow routing. For example, pharmacies can pre-prioritize incoming orders based on facility, date and time and day of week. Exception workflows like clarifications can be automatically initiated from returned responses coming from payers, doctors and/or the long-term care facilities. We've enhanced prioritization to include date, time, and source-based routing, and we've added both static barcodes to pre-identify and correctly route forms with support from vendors such as MedPass, as well as dynamic barcodes to tag outgoing documents and automatically route them into a workflow on reentry to the system.

Jeremy Hume, KeyCentrix One recent addition is our prescription verification stage, which allows technicians to enter new prescriptions that aren't sent out for adjudication. Instead, they go into a special queue, where a pharmacist can verify that the prescription was entered correctly before it is sent to insurance and a label printed. This catches data entry errors at the beginning of the process instead of at the end. It is designed to lower switching, label, and labor costs.

Tom Michalski, McKesson Pharmacy Systems Our Pharmacy Navigator workflow is new, which is integrated with Pharmaserv to bring key metrics together into a single dashboard. EnterpriseRx, our newest product has fully integrated workflow functionality, including a centralized database for central fill, workload balancing, and advanced reporting capabilities. The system is flexible enough to provide workflow options between stores, so that a smaller pharmacy can still operate as a one-person shop.

Ketan Mehta, Micro Merchant Systems We've added prescription verification to verify the prescription images versus the data entered, as well as drug-pick verification via NDC number, which ensures that the right drug is dispensed and billed to insurance. Also new is the ability to tag the prescription with multiple notes that can be defined by the pharmacist dynamically.

Dick Bradley, QS/1 We've improved images and imprints and prescription confirmation.

Gary Schoettmer, RNA Health Information Systems RNA eManifest is a new electronic delivery manifest that eliminates the need for paper manifests for long-term care facilities by capturing electronic signatures and providing detailed delivery information. The RNA TrackPoint Dashboard bar-graph display summarizes the workflow process by identifying backlogs and allows allocation of personnel and resources where they are needed.

Steve Wubker, Rx30 We've added pill images, hard-copy scanning, and pharmacist check-off and review using graphic verification tools and double-checking functions.

Michael Coughlin, ScriptPro The SP Mobile Checkpoint is new, which manages will-call bins to ensure each bag gets placed in the correct location. It also captures signatures, relationships, and drop locations for drive-thru and remote dispensing.

Tim Hutchinson, SoftWriters FrameworkLTC now includes real-time, graphical feedback on the number of prescriptions in each phase of the pharmacy's workflow. This screen can be viewed on a user's workstation or projected so that the entire pharmacy can see how they are performing.

Heath Reynolds, Speed Script We recently added prescription scanning at the data-entry station and wireless signature capture. We combined the convenience of our "refill queue" with the new workflow software so that the status of any prescription can be seen from one screen in the software. Also new are wireless signature capture, improved fill-queue entry and fill-status tracking. The due date/time, prescription number and fill number, patient name, drug name, doctor name, and workflow status can be displayed for each prescription you fill. We have various options to restrict the view-and-sort options, including categories such as "working on," "all filled," "rejected," "reversed," "NDC checked," "verified," "ready," "on delivery," "mailed," "picked up," "received," "custom," or "queued." We've also made improvements to allow sorting prescriptions by entering a single prescription number, jumping to a specific prescription number quickly, selecting all of the prescriptions on the screen to edit, editing the workflow information, or editing the status, pickup method and time, and notes.