E-DRUG: Follow-up: Pharmacy dispensing systems
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear E-Drug,
I wrote in June to ask for information on pharmacy dispensing
systems. We were looking for information on computer systems,
located in clinics or public sector pharmacies, which record which
medicines are dispensed to which patient. We were interested in the
pharmacy, not the warehouse, level. The paper was presented at the
Bellagio conference on e-Health. We hope to publish the entire paper
in the future.
We learned about 4 pharmacy dispensing systems currently in use. If
there are others, I'll happily add them to our list. The systems
below are listed in alphabetical order. Thanks to everyone who
replied and who answered our requests for additional information.
Please fell free to contact me with comments and/or queries. Dr
Hamish Fraser, at Partners In Health, is co-author on the paper.
Libby Levison
Public health consultant
Boston, MA
Pharmacy dispensing systems
1) ARV and OI Dispensing Tool (ADT): ADT is an MS Access database,
developed by Management Science for Health, which models dispensary
stocks and maintains a simplified patient model, including the
patient's ARV and OI regimen. It can report ART and OI dispensing
history, and number of patients per regimen. The system generates
orders for patients on ART [1].
2) iDart: iDart encodes each patient's regimen; there are used to
generate dispensing orders for the Dispensary to pre-package in
preparation of the patient's visit. iDart includes inventory control
of the dispensary stocks and this limited regimen information. iDart
is developed by Cell-Life in South Africa and is used in locations
throughout the country. Cell-Life provides training and technical support [2].
3) mSupply (dispensing mode): When used in dispensing mode, the
pharmacist enters the medicines being dispensed, based on a paper
prescription. mSupply uses the dispensed medicines to decrease the
dispensary stock levels. Stock transfers between the pharmacy store
and the dispensary share electronic files that eliminates the need to
enter data twice. mSupply is developed by the Sustainable Solutions
team in Nepal & New Zealand who provide training and technical support [3].
4) RxSolution: Developed by Management Sciences for Health, the
RxSolution database provides several aspects of drug management,
including dispensing, inventory control, consumption-based ordering
and recording patient regimen information. Built in SQL, the system
can run stand-alone or networked. Technical support is provided out
of South Africa [4].
References:
[1] Management Sciences for Health.
Available at: www.msh.org . Contact: cpm@msh.org
[2] Cell-Life. iDart.
Available at: www.cell-life.org/content/blogcategory/38/125
[3] mSupply by Sustainable Solutions Ltd.
Available at: www.msupply.org.nz .
[4] Management Sciences for Health. www.msh.org