European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

TELEPHARMACY

Roohi Fatima*, Sana Ahmed and Sayada Yameen Gulshi

ABSTRACT

Telpharmacy is the use of telecommunications technology to provide pharmacist services to distant populations. Telepharmacy services may includes drug review, provision of drug information, medication dispensing, verification of oral and sterile compounding, patient assessment, patient counselling and medication therapy management. The implementation of telepharmacy system is rapidly expanding due to the increasing affordability of videoconferencing technology and the increasing capacity of the pharmacist to securely assist electronic patient health records and perform traditional pharmacy practice activities remotely by the internet. The research on telepharmacy services reveals that patients are generally satisfied with the telepharmacy care they receives. Nurses and other healthcare professionals are also more satisfied with the after hour pharmacy services they receive by telepharmacy than before the telephartmacy system was implemented. Telepharmacy services have generally been shown to improve medication-related patient safely at remote hospitals. Patient clinical outcome have been shown improvement following the implementation of telepharmacy services. Recommendations for more stringent studies of telepharmacy services are provided.

Keywords: Telepharmacy; telemedicine; pharmacy; pharmacies; pharmacistsmedication therapy management; drug information services.