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July 8, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"A Shot in the Arm for Pharmacists"

Pharmacy Today (www.aphanet.org) (06/02) Vol. 8, No. 6, P. 1; Erickson, Amy K.

Pharmacists are trying to make immunizations more available to the general public, especially adults.  Presently, 33 states permit pharmacists to give vaccinations, while several chains and independent community pharmacies throughout the United States have different initiatives enabling pharmacists to participate in immunization programs.  The University of Tennessee Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacoeconomics and Reeves-Sain Drug Store have designed a pharmacy practice model in which patients are referred by a physician to a pharmacist, and the physician then charges third-party payers for the services of the pharmacist.  Another initiative is the teaming of the wireless handheld electronic prescription-prescribing system TouchWorks Rx+, which gives physicians a complete patient file, with the medical management system FirstFill.  By employing these two sources, patients can obtain the initial fill of their prescription right from the physician, have the prescription electronically transmitted to a pharmacy, or have the prescription printed out like a regular handwritten prescription. In Minnesota, pharmacy regulators recently approved use of the InsytMeds drug-dispensing system in that state.  Patients insert a prescription and a credit card into an ATM-type kiosk and receive their medication.  Giant Food and Pharmacy recently launched an Internet-based system known as OnCallData, which will permit physicians to send prescriptions to a pharmacy's computer from a desktop or handheld computer, wireless phone, or text pager.  The system will be accessible to 30,000 physicians in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

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ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.