Pharmacy Voices

The American healthcare IT market will hit $31 billion in 2017, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% from 2012 to 2017. Driving this growth is the demand for clinical IT and the use of IT to reduce the cost of healthcare delivery. It is just a matter of time before paper-based systems disappear entirely and the entire system is digitized.

For too long pharmacists have been taking care of pills instead of patients. It looks like things are starting to change. The future is finally starting to happen.

A number of interesting resources have made their way into my email news during the last few weeks that I thought would be of interest to ComputerTalk readers.

We have seen a sector of healthcare, previously known for its lack of technology adoption, begin a complete about-face. One overall term for this sector is the “connected patient.”

We have compiled our annual predictions for what is ahead in 2014, including changes in reimbursement, more critical analysis of technology investments, and the impact of pharmacist supply.

What are some of the events from the past year in pharmacy and healthcare that stand out the most?

My definition of fraud: when someone does something so that they will get more (usually money) than they are supposed to get.

A 12-month study of a medication synchronization program in January 2013 found the program lifts the medication adherence rate well above the industry average for patients with chronic disease states.

We realize that most people are intimately familiar with one or two social media tools, but do not have a knowledge of the range of other tools that are available for use.

With many Americans looking for healthcare coverage starting Jan. 1, 2014, the importance of understanding the new health insurance exchanges cannot be overstated.