A pharma outsourcing mission

Article | March 2, 2020

I recently discussed the different ways that consumer-grade smartphones can compromise patients’ health, safety and overall care. However, some clinicians and healthcare administrators have indicated in recent months that they need help selecting the right enterprise-grade mobility solutions for their unique operating models and workflows. There are many different hardware and software options, and a single rugged device can come in multiple configurations. So, how do you know if you’re picking the right communication tools for your clinicians? The key is to first set performance expectations for the total mobility solution rather than the device alone.

Article | March 2, 2020

Every member of the health care team shares a common goal of optimizing patient outcomes. Yet each specialty and position of the healthcare team has a unique workflow facilitated by various tools, from an operative report to a progress note. In this regard the pharmacist plays a pivotal function in medication management and requires documentation specific to that role. The Pharmacist eCare Plan (PeCP) allows for an interoperable note to be used in the pharmacy to assist in the exchange of patient information, including active medication list, laboratory results, and payer information. To allow for this, a new type of clinical document architecture for the PeCP was created and standardized for use across pharmacies.

Article | March 2, 2020

The pharmaceutical industry is set to greatly benefit from the use of artificial intelligence (AI), due to its wide range of applications. Sydney Tierney discusses how machine learning can enhance marketing, manufacturing and drug trials. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be applied to nearly every aspect of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, to enhance data processing. Adopting the technology will reveal the astonishing potential of the healthcare sector, with success rates flying higher than ever before – especially in the research and development of crucial, life-changing drugs.

Article | March 2, 2020

The president and some of his close advisors — desperate for a COVID-19 cure — are asking “What do you have to lose?” by taking hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a strong medication never adequately tested for efficacy or safety in COVID-19 patients. The correct answer to the president’s question, which he doesn’t seem to want to hear, is that we have our lives to lose. The president acknowledges “I’m not a doctor” but this raises the question “What do doctors know about the drug recommended by the president? Most doctors are aware that HCQ can be effective for patients with malaria, arthritis or lupus. If they were to follow the president’s suggestion and prescribe it for COVID-19 patients, they would also like to know that it will benefit some of those patients, at least.