Five effective EHR usage tips for pharmacies

According to the 2022 studies published in the “Pharmacy” and “Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews” journals, electronic health records software can help pharmacies provide more personalized services and improve the quality of patient care, leading to better patient outcomes and increased revenue. So, how do pharmacists benefit from EHRs and use them at full capacity? 

1. Consult patients on medication usage based on EHR data

Extended patients’ health history provides pharmacists with information on patients’ demographic and health conditions that can lead to issues with the prescribed treatment. Since pharmacists don’t have time to hold an extended interview with each customer, such information can be easily missed without access to the EHR. 

While doctors prescribe treatment, it’s often the pharmacists who help patients understand the proper way to take the meds and caution them against side effects. For example, pharmacists can provide chronically ill people with more detailed information on their long-term medications and advise on the safest combination with over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and other substances. Additionally, having access to patients’ medical history, vital metrics, and previous medication usage patterns, pharmacists can identify patients at risk of medication non-adherence and work towards preventing such cases more effectively than any other healthcare professional. 

Patients are more likely to follow pharmacists’ advice if they have a trusting relationship, and it is a vital part of pharmacists’ job to establish one. However, building a relationship can be hindered if a pharmacist pays too much attention to documentation instead of focusing on the patient. Undergoing training is essential for pharma professionals to learn how to use EHR data quickly and easily, without diverting their attention from the customer. 

2. Communicate with other medical professionals via EHR

Electronic health records are informative in case all their users diligently record information. Pharmacists shouldn’t confine themselves to only viewing patients’ data but become active participants in supplying information to create their cohesive health history.

For example, pharmacists who implement medication management plans for their patients should include information about the medication intake, the patient’s goals for treatment, and their initial health metrics in the system. EHR should also be a place to record the data from monitoring patients’ medication adherence, the changes in their vital metrics, and their well-being during therapy. Healthcare professionals can later use such EHR data to compare patients’ progress with different kinds of medicines and to make adjustments to their current or future treatment plans for more comfort and efficacy. 

The above is especially valuable for patients who undergo similar therapy courses multiple times and more often reach out to pharmacists than doctors, for example, people with hypertension or diabetes. While such patients switch doctors, pharmacies, and care facilities during their lifetime, the new treatment suggestions must consider their previous experiences.

3. Integrate EHR with other software

EHRs benefit your business and patients more if they can flawlessly exchange data with your other software and equipment. Depending on the size of the pharmacy, EHRs can be integrated with pharmacy management, financial, and barcode-generating software, barcode readers, point-of-sale, and other systems.

Freeing pharmacists from the need to re-enter information in multiple systems lowers their burnout risks, prevents typos, and ensures that every professional in the medication dispensing loop has sufficient data to make decisions in patients’ favor. For example, EHR data can be used in barcoding medications, so the dispensing pharmacists can read the barcode and quickly double-check that the drug goes to the right patient in the proper dosage. 

4. Analyze customers’ medication usage patterns

Pharmacy personnel can use valuable data from the EHR systems beyond the moments of direct interaction with patients. The information about patients’ chronic conditions, allergies, vaccination schedules, or susceptibility to seasonal illnesses can help pharmacists anticipate the spikes and declines in demand for certain products and stock their inventory accordingly. 

Additionally, pharmacists who are well-informed about their patients’ medication usage patterns can quickly identify problems like substance abuse or medication non-adherence 

While smaller pharmacies’ personnel can effectively build relationships and get to know each patient individually, analyzing extensive volumes of EHR data can be daunting and near impossible for larger pharma facilities. EHR software with analytical capabilities can help with processing data and presenting comprehensive visual reports. However, pharmacists must be trained to generate and use the reports quickly and effectively.

5. Keep up with the security regulations

Although EHRs offer valuable advantages to pharmacies, they also elevate the risks of expensive data breaches. Pharmacists should undergo EHR security training before they can start using the system and then annually refresh their knowledge and learn about new ways to strengthen security. 

Naturally, each pharmacy should have its patient data safety policy and use EHRs accordingly. If the pharmacy has an IT department, it should keep the EHR secure and up to date. However, for small pharmacies, where personnel don’t have extensive technical knowledge, the most common ways to keep patients’ data safe are regularly backing up EHR data, using multi-factor authentication, and avoiding links and attachments from unknown senders. 

Additionally, pharmacists should never hesitate to contact their EHR platform’s support team. It is always best to consult an expert than to waste time and potentially endanger patient data by trying to solve the issue without adequate technical expertise.

Summing up

Pharmacists are the first point of care access for many patients, and the EHR software can help them manage their business more efficiently and serve patients better. However, it is crucial to choose the system best suited to the particular pharmacy’s processes and then follow EHR usage best practices to get the most out of this software. Sufficient user training, robust security practices, flawless integration with other types of software, and collaboration with other healthcare professionals are the key to unlocking the advantages of pharmacy EHR.