Telepharmacy
Telepharmacy
"Telepharmacy is working well in North Dakota. It is a great way to restore and retain pharmacy services for many remote rural communities throughout the state. Telepharmacy services produce the same quality as the traditional mode of delivery and provide some value-added features that are not found in traditional pharmacy practice."
Dr. Charles D. Peterson
Dean Emeritus, Professor, and Principal Investigator/Director
ND Telepharmacy Project
NDSU College of Health Professions
North Dakota Telepharmacy Project
Through the North Dakota Telepharmacy Project, a licensed pharmacist at a central pharmacy site supervises a registered pharmacy technician at a remote telepharmacy site through the use of video conferencing technology. The technician prepares the prescription drug for dispensing by the pharmacist. The pharmacist communicates face-to-face in real time with the technician and the patient through audio and video computer links. The North Dakota Telepharmacy Project is a collaboration of the NDSU College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences, the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy, and the North Dakota Pharmacists Association. North Dakota was the first state to pass administrative rules allowing retail pharmacies to operate in certain remote areas without requiring a pharmacist to be present.
To date there are 94 pharmacies involved in the North Dakota Telepharmacy Project, 32 central pharmacy sites and 62 remote telepharmacy sites. (North Dakota Pharmacy Services list).
Approximately 80,000 rural citizens have had their pharmacy services restored, retained, or established through the North Dakota Telepharmacy Project since its inception. The project has restored valuable access to health care in remote medically underserved areas of the state and has added approximately $26.5 million in economic development to the local rural economy including adding 80-100 new jobs.
Telepharmacy sites in North Dakota are full service pharmacies that have complete drug inventories, including over-the-counter and prescription drugs as well as health and beauty aids and other general store merchandise.
What is telepharmacy?
- Through the use of state-of-the-art telecommunications technology, pharmacists are able to provide pharmaceutical care to patients at a distance. Telepharmacy expands access to quality health care to communities nationwide, primarily in rural, medically-underserved areas.
- Licensed pharmacists provide traditional pharmacy services, including drug utilization review, prescription verification, and patient counseling to a remote site via telepharmacy technology. Retaining the active role of the pharmacist helps assure the delivery of safe, high quality pharmacy services that can be at risk when the pharmacist is left out as in the case of internet and mail-order pharmacies.
How does telepharmacy work?
- A patient takes their prescription to their local telepharmacy and gives it to the registered pharmacy technician, who prepares the prescription for dispensing by the pharmacist. The pharmacist reviews the patient's medication profile for drug interactions and other potential problems before examining digital pictures of the completed prescription for accuracy via videoconferencing equipment.
- Once the pharmacist has approved the prepared prescription, the pharmacy technician brings the patient to a private consultation room for counseling by the pharmacist on the proper use of their medication. Patient education counseling is required by the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy for all patients receiving telepharmacy services and also takes place via videoconferencing. Patient confidentiality is assured throughout the processing of their prescription. The pharmacist is ultimately responsible for proper preparing and dispensing of medications.
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Another telepharmacy model is one in a hospital or other institutional setting. In this case, a registered pharmacy technician prepares the medication, which is checked by a pharmacist at a different location via audio and video computer links before it is dispensed to a patient.