Jerry Fahrni

Tag: Cool Stuff

  • VGo telepresence robot has Verizon LTE

    Engadget: “the VGo ‘bot — a chest-high roving device that has a display and camera built-in and allows patients and others to interact with a remote operator — is at CES this year to show off its inclusion of Verizon LTE, instead of the WiFi-only model we’ve seen in times past.” – So? So this means you’re no longer confined to locations with Wi-Fi. It means you can have telepresence (telemedicine, telepharmacy) anywhere. Need a specialist’s opinion in the middle of nowhere? Ok, just fire up the VGo robot with Verizon LTE.

    For those of you that haven’t experience “4G” you’re missing out. It’s quite snappy. I frequently use my Galaxy Nexus to watch movies on Netflix while waiting for my daughter at Volleyball practice. No lag. No buffering. Just a smooth movie watching experience.

     

  • Cool Pharmacy Technology–KitCheck

    Anyone that’s ever worked in an acute care pharmacy knows about med trays, code trays, transport boxes, intubation kits, etc. They’re a bit of a headache because all the medications inside each kit has to be manually manipulated and tracked, including the dreaded lot number and expiration date of everything in the trays.

    Well, KitCheck is a system that uses RFID technology to track the medications found in all those different med trays, code boxes, etc. I thought it was pretty cool. It’s a great idea. Wish I would have thought of it.

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  • Year end thoughts 2011


    2011 brought many new and exciting changes not only in my personal life, but in the world of pharmacy and technology as well. I’ve learned many new things, gained some new skills, made some new friends, explored the world of pharmacy more deeply, traveled more than ever before and discovered that I once again know nothing. I am excited to see what 2012 has to bring.

    Below is a list of opinions I’ve gathered over the past 12 months. Some are pharmacy related, some are technology related, some are personal, and some are just random thoughts. If you don’t agree with my opinions that’s fine, but I don’t want to hear about it. On the other hand if you have something useful to add please feel free to leave a comment.

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  • Merry Christmas 2011

    And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch of their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

    Luke 2:8-11

  • Cool Pharmacy Technology – Eyecon Pill Counter

    1. Scan the bottle
    2. Pour the tablets onto the Eyecon Pill Counter counting platter. The Eyecon Pill Counter uses “Machine vision technology” to count the tablets.
    3. Package the tablets

    That’s pretty simple. Sure beats the heck out of counting the tablets by hand. 5…10…15…20….

    More information on the Eyecon Pill Counter can be found here.

  • Cool Pharmacy Technology–DAP Personal Med Manager

    I came across the HealthOneMed Dispense-A-Pill (DAP) Personal Medication Manager while surfing the ‘net one afternoon earlier this week. It’s basically a miniature ADU with pie-shaped wedge slots for personal medications. I thought it was pretty slick.

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  • Fluted Filter Paper

    I grabbed a coffee filter this morning to make a pot of coffee – something I’ve done hundreds of times – when I had a moment of nostalgia. The coffee filter took me back to my days in organic chemistry class in college when I used to create my own fluted filters for gravity filtration. I can’t tell you why I had the flashback. Perhaps it’s my body trying to deal with the 50 pounds of food I’ve ingested over the past couple of days; who knows.

    Fluting filter paper is common practice in high school and college chemistry labs across the country. The process is done to increase the speed of the filtration process and give one a larger surface area onto which to collect the sample. Pretty low tech, but cool nonetheless. 

  • Cool Pharmacy Technology – Demolizer II

    imageI’m at the MEDICA World Forum for Medicine in Düsseldorf Germany this week. While I haven’t seen much in the way of pharmacy related products, I did come across something that I thought was pretty cool. The brochure I grabbed said it was the “Sharps Waste Eliminator” by GMP (Global Medi Products). However when I went to the GMP website for more information I couldn’t find mention of it anywhere. A little creative Googling led me to the BMTS Corp site where I found the device I was looking for. Someone should have a talk with the marketing folks at GMP. Just sayin’.

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  • Music Beta by Google drops beta, becomes Google Music

    My favorite cloud music service is no longer Music Beta, but rather Google Music. Ta-da! I’ve been using Google Music for a while. I’ve found it to be quite nice. I especially like the integration with my Android based phone. Go figure.

  • Accurate Assessment of Adherence (man vs. machine) [abstract]

    A recent article in Chest1 demonstrates the value of electronic data collection in medication adherence. In this case it was inhalation therapy in cystic fibrosis patients. This type of article is important as we consider the future of electronic health records and where the data for such records should come. Remember, people are notoriously unreliable historians while computers don’t lie.

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