Cool pharmacy technology – StoreRx

It’s not often that I take note of pharmacy technology designed for the outpatient setting, but I had to make an exception when I came across the StoreRx robotic prescription storage system by ARX. What little outpatient pharmacy I remember, keeping track of patient prescriptions once filled was always a headache. I’ve seen several systems … Read more

Is the tablet PC dead?

Mashable: “Microsoft will release a tablet-oriented version of Windows no sooner than 2012, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Despite Steve Ballmer’s bombastic statements in July last year, when he said Microsoft is “hardcore” about tablets and that we can expect “a lot” of Windows-based tablets by the end of 2010, none of the tablets that actually did hit the stores made any significant impact on the market.

The reasons for this are quite clear: Windows 7 simply isn’t optimized for use with modern tablets with finger-based input. Remember the long, painful transition from Windows Mobile 6 to Windows Phone 7? Once again, it will take time for Microsoft to deliver the user experience it needs to be able to compete with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Honeycomb.”

While the tablet PC may not be dead, it’s certainly on life support. The lack of a significant “Windows” presence in the new tablet market is troubling to say the least. I use a tablet PC nearly every day and for the life of me can’t figure out why Microsoft hasn’t taken a different approach to this market. Apple is kicking the crap out of them, as are Android tablet makers Motorola and Samsung. Why? Because Microsoft isn’t making tablets that people are interested in using.

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New study equals new opportunity for pharmacists – ADEs in the ED

The February 2011 issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine has an article that reveals that patients that come through the emergency department (ED) secondary to an adverse drug event (ADE) “had a higher risk of spending additional days in the hospital per month and higher rate of outpatient health care encounters. The adjusted median monthly … Read more

The evolution of tablets for pharmacy

Everywhere I look these days someone is showing off a new tablet; in the media anyway. Out in public I typically see mostly iPads with the Galaxy tablet coming in a distant second. I’m not sure that this will change anytime soon, but it’s clear to me that tablets will become mainstream devices for many people over time. The technology is simply too good to ignore. No one knows if the tablet will ever replace desktop machines, but I have an idea that they will for many, especially as the tablet market matures and hardware vendors begin to meet the needs of consumers. Case in point is the growing number of iPad keyboard cases you can find floating around on the internet. People want the iPad experience, but they also want a solid keyboard to work with so vendors obliged consumers by creating things like the ClamCase.

To the best of my knowledge the next twelve months will bring tablets of all shapes, sizes and OS flavors to the market. I’ve seen information on tablets with screen sizes ranging from 7-inches to just over 10-inches, and operating systems including Android, Windows 7 (8?), WebOS, BlackBerry, and of course iOS. Did I miss any? It’s possible that I did as I’ve seen a few others thrown in the mix over the past several months, but I believe these constitute the bulk of what we’ll see.

With that said, what impact do I think these devices will have on pharmacy practice? That’s a good question. Because I’m a tablet enthusiast I’d like to think they will revolutionize pharmacy practice as we know it, but in reality it probably won’t make much difference at all. Why? Site back and I’ll tell you.

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BlackBerry devices in healthcare (Video)

I found this interesting video (below) showing some of the things BlackBerry is doing at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). The name BlackBerry really doesn’t come to mind when you think of healthcare. Maybe the new BlackBerry PlayBook will help change all that. It’s a compelling device for anyone already using a BlackBerry … Read more