As with other pharmacy sectors, the U.S. Navy faces a shortage of pharmacists, and when unexpected obligations crop up, such as caring for victims of the earthquakes in Haiti, pharmacy staff is often redeployed on a moment's notice, making it difficult for existing staff to keep up.

This is one reason why ScriptPro's Telepharmacy system was selected by the Navy as a way to maximize pharmacist resources. The ScriptPro system allows one pharmacist to oversee the dispensing process at one or more satellite pharmacies. The pharmacist is able to view, through video, the original prescription, the actual medication being dispensed, and the pill image of the prescribed drug from ScriptPro's comprehensive drug database. Patient counseling is done through the same video and audio connection.

"Global Internet telecommunications make pharmacists available to multiple locations from virtually anywhere in the world," says Mike Coughlin, ScriptPro's president and CEO. According to Coughlin, this is the largest rollout of a telepharmacy system anywhere in the world.