PharmaBridge

Problem: Doctors send fax/e-documents to pharmacies. Pharmacists must parse through prescriptions and manually retrieve relevant data to feed into pill sorter/distributor. Additionally, this process is not standardized across all clinics and pharmacies. There is no one document type for prescriptions which complicates the documentation process and encourages pharmacies to spend more time on tedious archiving. This takes time. Pharmacists' skills can be better spent applying expertise instead of reviewing documentation. In the current healthcare climate, there is extreme scrutiny over time allocation and efficiency due to an overloaded healthcare system. Efficiency at any stage of the medical process is valuable and a worthwhile venture.

The Fix: A centralized app which streamlines the communication process between doctor, pharmacy and patient. The platform will involve these three clients connected through a database. Doctors can upload prescriptions in the interface and send to the patient and the pharmacy of choice. The pharmacy will receive the prescription, and the app will parse through for relevant prescription data (type, quantity, duration, etc.), warnings, and additional instructions. Extracted information will be available to the doctor on the interface to cross-reference with the source to confirm accuracy. Throughout this process, the patient will receive notifications about the status of their prescription (sent, received, ready, etc.).

How This Helps: This app introduces a level of harmony between the three clients (doctor, pharmacist, patient), which helps reduce redundancy, boost efficiency, and cut wait times. Pharmacists are relieved of needing to manually review and enter data, and all parties work with a standardized file transfer method, which simplifies record-keeping. Additionally, patients are kept informed throughout the process and will be able to see the status of their prescription. This app aims to lift weight off an overloaded pharmacare system in order to improve patient wait times. This is a highly relevant issue which we tackle with a simple and tangible product.