Imagine a pharmacy where patients are fully involved with their health, utilizing the latest in technological advances to make the most of every interaction. Imagine pharmacists not only prescribing medications, but also mobile apps to help patients continue their health care at home. Envision prescriptions being filled by a robot and pharmacists using Google glass to interact with patients instead of staying behind the counter.
Sound futuristic? This is not only the pharmacy of the future, it’s the present too. The University of South Florida (USF)
College of Pharmacy plans to open this pharmacy this month (September), featuring all of this and more.
“We’re entering an age in healthcare where we need to not only just exist in health, but also try to optimize health," says Kevin Sneed, PhD., dean of the College of Pharmacy at USF.
Located on USF’s campus, the 1,500-square-foot facility will serve patients at the
Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare. It will also allow pharmacy students to learn using the most advanced in technology and personal patient care.
At the facility, automatic will be achieved in a very uncommon way. Prescriptions will be sent to the center electronically, reviewed by a pharmacist and then sent to a robot. The robot will place the pills in a bottle, label and cap the bottle. A picture will be taken of the pills that is cross referenced against a known reference for that drug. The entire process will then be barcoded and reviewed in order to ensure the utmost accuracy.
In the ultimate in personalization, USF will use pharmaco genomics, a technology that uses the DNA of a patient to track their health and eventually predict how they will respond to a medication.
In a true community-based approach, a section of the pharmacy will display pharmaceutical-related items that were manufactured and marketed by Tampa Bay entrepreneurs.
The idea first came to Sneed just over a year ago, when the pharmacy USF maintained at the time was being shut down. He created the plan and proposal within 48 hours and was able to make it a reality in less than a year. The main goal is to give students a chance to experience what the pharmacy they may be working on in the future will look like, providing the critical hands-on component to what is discussed in classrooms.
"We want to have them exit the program with the full intention of changing the healthcare landscape," says Sneed. "We want to build leaders in healthcare"
Sneed attributes the success of the facility and USF healthcare overall to the interprofessional collaborations among USF Health colleges, noting that a team-based approach is critical to any kind of success in healthcare.
Writer:
Megan Hendricks
Source: Kevin Sneed, USF College of Pharmacy
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