by Brad Ordener

With each passing year healthcare and other industries are becoming more and more reliant on technology. Pharmacy is one industry that is particularly dependent on new innovations to keep up with increasing demand. As this reliance on technology increases some unique problems are emerging that are slowing progress and making it difficult for pharmacy owners to change pharmacy systems. The technological landscape in pharmacy could be improved significantly with ...

In this podcast, McKesson Pharmacy Systems President Stanton McComb covers a range of topics surrounding pharmacy, technology, and the current drive for healthcare reform. He offers his take on what new roles pharmacy may play as a result, the growing role of clinical care in pharmacy, and what’s on the horizon for technology for the pharmacy and for the patient. Also part of the discussion: What MTM means for retail pharmacy right now and what it ...

For the last twelve months, many independent pharmacies have struggled over the decision of whether to register their pharmacy under the 90% Rule, or invest in an IIAS certified point-of-sale.  For one reason or another, many pharmacies opted for the 90% Rule.  It seemed like a logical choice.  No expensive point-of-sale, no major changes, just a little complicated paperwork and it is back to business as usual.  For some, this has worked out.  For others, FSA card declines have ...

Pharmacies already have OTC items in their stores, and with a little planning and proper placement, those standard items can turn into added sales at the POS.

This letter from Integra CEO Kevin Welch is in response to the article written by Kapali Eswaran in the September/October 2009 issue of ComputerTalk regarding "What to Look for in a Paperless System."

An Interview with the Connecticut State Medical Society-IPA Executive Director, Ken Lalime.

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Sponsored by Emdeon

In this interview, eRx Network's VP of Clinical Services, Rick Sage, talks to ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood about where he sees ePrescribing right now and the role companies like eRx play as adoption increases.

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An Interview with Valu-Med Pharmacy’s Justin Wilson

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Sponsored by Emdeon

The mobile technology initiative in Butler University's College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences started four years ago with the introduction of laptops for all pharmacy students. A year later laptops were replaced with tablet PCs, which allow students to draw structures, write equations, and ...

Long-time independent pharmacist Bob Graul has made some big changes and taken a new direction recently. In this interview with ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood, Graul talks about the process of selling his pharmacies and how this motivated him to get involved in his current project: www.RxOwnership.com, a Web site designed to facilitate independent pharmacy ownership transition.

Duane Chudy, president of TCG, has a long history in pharmacy automation. Beginning with a career at Baxter nearly 25 years ago, Duane pioneered the launch of automated tablet packaging and has since designed and implemented revolutionary new products for a number of pharmacy markets. In this interview with ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood, he offers his insight into how his newest technology venture is bringing an new ...

In this interview with ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood, HCC VP of Sales Larry Stephenson discusses some of the choices software vendors face when choosing development tools and how these choices influence the end product, from what the user sees to what's under the hood.

QS/1 user Richard Stryker, of Bayshore Pharmacy in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., anticipates that his IIAS-compliant POS system is going to help his customers help others. Here's how he tells this story.

You're probably aware that as of January 1, 2009 there will be new rules for pharmacies processing payments for items eligible for FSA/HRA spending.  If you have a point-of-sale (POS) system, you'll need to make sure it is IIAS compliant and that your system has been certified. If you don't have POS, then you may be looking for another solution.  In this interview, Retail Management Solutions President Brad Jones and KeyCentrix ...

Managing a pharmacy's front-end can be a time-consuming and complex task. But there are ways to make life easier. In this interview with ComputerTalk's Maggie Lockwood, ECRS President Peter Catoe talks about how the company's Supplier Gateway can connect its Catapult point-of-sale (POS) system with supplier ordering systems to reduce the time spent on ordering, pricing, and other activities.

By Dave Williams

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, many pharmacies are looking to cultivate greater customer affinity with a branded loyalty program. One misconception among many retailers is that these programs have to be complicated. Nothing could be further from the truth. By simply instituting a loyalty program where customers perceive some added value, store visit frequency and average basket size should increase by at least 1% to 2%. Such a sales increase ...

In this interview with ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood, DAA VP for business development Abrar Kazmi talks about the company's new OnClickTech Support offering, which offers remote PC support. This is a joint venture with Team 9 Global Serivces, and is something a little different for ...

McKesson Pharmacy Systems' (MPS) president Stanton McComb took time during the most recent McKesson Trade Show in Las Vegas to answer a series of questions from ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood about what the centrally-hosted EnterpriseRx pharmacy management product, already deployed in the chain setting, offers for independent pharmacy.

Pharmacist Doug Kaleugher opened Med-Fast Pharmacy 1990. Since then the business has expanded to 22 pharmacies in western Pennsylvania, with a mix of standard prescription services, retail, long-term care, and compounding. In this interview with ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood, Kaleugher talks about the big role dispensing automation has played Med-Fast's growth. He also offers strategies for introducing automation into your pharmacy and his take on the benefits of some of the newest dispensing technology out there.

Dave Burke R.Ph, M.B.A., pictured at left in blue, owner of Dave’s Pharmacy in Marysville, Ohio, took some time out at the recent Cardinal RBC to talk with ComputerTalk's Will Lockwood about his decision to a install a workflow management system and the benefits he has seen. Dave’s Pharmacy fills an average of 400 prescriptions per day, with peaks on some ...

Joe Ross, director of business services at McKesson Pharmacy Systems, talks in this interview with ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood about existing and anticipated regulations that are changing what drug sales pharmacists are required to log. State and Federal regulations that require tracking the sale of non-prescription methamphetamine precursors have contributed to a demonstrable reduction in the illegal use of these drugs. More regulation may be in store, since the FDA is currently considering a behind-the-counter class of ...

Here is an overview of the big questions about e-prescribing that pharmacists were asking Speed Script’s Heath Reynolds during the 109th NCPA meeting in October. Reynolds, director of business development, talks here of the nuts and bolts of taking e-prescribing from theory to practice.

Pharmacies serving the long-term care market are likely to have special workflow requirements. Read on for vendors' views on the key elements to maximize LTC safety and efficiency.

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

ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood caught up recently with Marc Cohen, senior director of marketing for RelayHealth, to talk about what's happening in the world of claims processing and switching services. It turns out that there are some interesting new additions being made that build on the transactional expertise and connectivity that are the core elements of these services.

In this interview with ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood, PharmacistsOnLine CEO David Knaggs offers his views on how independent pharmacists can improve their competitiveness by turning their attention to tested marketing tools and to product lines that have not traditionally been a big part their business.

McKesson Pharmacy Systems (MPS) President Stanton McComb sat down with ComputerTalk senior editor Will Lockwood at the McKesson Pharmacy Strategies Conference and Trade Show in Boston in July to talk about recent changes at MPS resulting from the Per-Se Technologies acquisition, the newest technology that MPS is offering, and the changes he sees ahead for retail pharmacy practice.

In this interview with ComputerTalk's Maggie Lockwood, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacist’s Carla Sexton, R.Ph., CGP, assistant director, policy and advocacy, along with consultant and ASCP board member Shelly Spiro, R.Ph., FASCP, talk about the ways evolving technologies, from web-based interfaces to the LTC e-prescribing pilot, are impacting the consultant pharmacist.

Parata brought its RDS robotics directly to ComputerTalk recently, courtesy of its new mobile unit. The concept was developed over the past year as a way to reach out to busy community pharmacists.

In this interview with ComputerTalk's senior editor, Will Lockwood, Parata's executive VP of sales and marketing, Tom Rhoads, pictured at left, discusses the results and lessons of two recent surveys on dispensing automation that covered independent, chain, and institutional pharmacies. Read on for his take on the trends revealed, pharmacists' attitude toward their industry and their future, and the tools that can help make sure that investment in automation pays dividends.