PSWE-02 - Informatics pharmacists: From users to developers and evaluators

Great Hall 2 Wednesday 27 September 2023, 11:00-12:30

Organised by FIP's Hospital Pharmacy Section In collaboration with the FIP Technology Advisory Group

Chair(s)

Dr Ardalan Mirzaei, The University of Sydney, Australia and Mr Mujahid Valji, Aga Khan Hospital, Tanzania

Introduction

Digital health has rapidly expanded and has been utilized during the COVID pandemic. Digital health has allowed healthcare professions to provide services, share information and achieve more personalised care remotely. Pharmacy has been an early adopter of digital solutions, applying them to the dispensing and procurement process. As digital solutions are now integral in the delivery of modern health care, pharmacists are transitioning from being users of digital health to being developers and evaluators. These new roles have highlighted the unique skill set of pharmacists and their value when implementing electronic medication management systems and digital solutions in complex health systems.

Despite the many benefits of digital health, numerous unintended consequences have been identified, and workarounds have been developed to minimize their impact. Such actions have led to serious medication errors, which are compounded in hybrid electronic environments. As a result, pharmacists role as medication safety experts has evolved into digital safety experts as informatics pharmacists. This role evolution has resulted in changing consumers’ expectations of pharmacists. Pharmacists’ efforts towards digital health have moved them from being passive users to active supporters, developers and forefront champions of digital health solutions. With these varied traits, this session will highlight the consequences of failing to adapt and progress with the coming digital health revolution and the victories that will result by building the capacity of our profession.

Programme

11:00 – 11:05	Session introduction by chairs
11:05 – 11:25	Tech pioneers: Lessons from informatics pharmacists in technology and software development Ms Mary Wang, Shin Kong Memorial Hospital,China Taiwan
11:25 – 11:45	Tech assessment: Lessons from informatics pharmacists in technology implementation and assessment Mr James Grant, Queensland Health, Australia
11:45 – 12:05	Making the invisible visible: Improving digital inventory visibility Prof. James G. Stevenson, University of Michigan, United States
12:05 – 12:30	Panel discussion

Learning objectives

To review pharmacists’ skills and fit in health technology evaluation
To identify opportunities to develop health informatics competencies in pharmacists and improve patient outcomes
To evaluate successful collaborative practices in pharmacy informatics as value-creating experiences

Take home messages

Pharmacists’ skills and roles are well aligned to allow them to be experts of digital health and technology evaluation. Pharmacist development in health informatics will be the next evolution of the pharmacists’ role and impact on patient outcomes. Chief Pharmacy Information Officers are crucial roles that have been shown to improve patient outcomes and effectiveness of healthcare systems.