The integration, utilization, and management of information to provide efficient and more effective workflow systems that can be used by pharmacist and other health care professionals is called pharmacy informatics.  Do not get intimated by the word informatics.  One of the biggest misconceptions about this area of pharmacy is that it is very “techie” and only computer savvies can enjoy or practice such field.  It is true that pharmacy informatics employ new hardware and software advancements but it is only a part of the bigger picture.  Pharmacy informatics also requires effective communication skills, customer-service orientation, and interpersonal abilities.  To further understand what it is all about try reading some of its major benefits below:

1. Efficient and more effective workflow systems :

The most evident contribution of Information Technology regardless of the industry it is being applied is probably automation of various manual processes which usually reduces processing time, manpower, and other resources.  From purchasing order, inventor tracking, receiving of supplies, pharmacy billing, to automated label generation all of these can be improved through the use of integrated information systems.

2. Accurate and readily available data:

Patient information on past and present medical background, health insurance records, and other pertinent medical data are centralized, more precise, and can be easily accessed.  From the side of health professionals, data on drug allergies, appropriate doses, drug-drug interactions, and other critical information are on the tip of their finger enabling them to provide fast and appropriate diagnosis and medications.

3. Greater convenience for patients:

Some parts of Europe have already started using Smart Cards which contain various health information about the patient. This eliminates the tedious tasks of filling up a form every time a person visits a clinic or hospital.  Patients can also stop worrying that their records and other related health data were surprisingly missing or for some reasons could not be found. 

4. Stronger relationship vendors, health professionals, and patients:

The connection between these parties is further strengthened through regular communication and sharing of different information.  Doctors, pharmacists, caregivers and other health practitioners are happy because suppliers deliver the right medicines at the right time.  And of course patients are the ones most benefited since their health conditions are eventually improved.  It is actually a win-win situation for everyone. 

5. Health advancement:

Health professionals have more access to any data they need in conducting diagnosis experiments and researching.  Data are centralized, readily available, and are more accurate.   

In the U.S. top pharmacy colleges and universities have included a number of pharmacy informatics courses to its curriculum such as Application of Informatics in Healthcare, Pharmacy Bioinformatics, Biomedical Informatics, and Drug Information and Informatics to name a few.  The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) has recently released new standards requiring pharmacy colleges to include pharmacy informatics in their curricula.  This is a clear indication of the how important pharmacy informatics has become over the past couple of years.