{"id":29397,"date":"2011-02-10T08:20:57","date_gmt":"2011-02-10T13:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=29397"},"modified":"2011-02-15T08:25:29","modified_gmt":"2011-02-15T13:25:29","slug":"new-technologies-test-pharmacy-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2011\/02\/new-technologies-test-pharmacy-students\/","title":{"rendered":"New Technologies Test Pharmacy Students"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"<p>Robert<\/a>
Robert L. McCarthy, dean of the School of Pharmacy, meets with pharmacy students. Photo by Peter Morenus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recent advances in computer technology are redefining the way pharmacists do business. And in response to the changes, faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy<\/a> are making sure students are well versed in the latest laws and ethical standards of the industry.<\/p>\n

Two areas of immediate concern involve electronic prescribing and data mining.<\/p>\n

Electronic prescribing is a procedure being adopted by a growing number of health care providers in place of the more traditional hand-written prescriptions patients bring to their pharmacist. The federal government is encouraging the use of electronic prescriptions by offering health care professionals financial incentives<\/a> to use the technology. Eligible physicians who fail to adopt electronic prescribing will face financial penalties beginning in 2012.<\/p>\n

Advocates say sending prescriptions electronically over the Internet helps eliminate pharmacist errors (it\u2019s a widely held perception that doctors don\u2019t always have the best handwriting); facilitates insurance reviews; and makes it easier for health care professionals to share important medical data.<\/p>\n

But the immediacy and efficiency that comes with the technology brings with it new professional and ethical concerns.<\/p>\n

Placing an individual\u2019s personal health care information into an electronic database increases the risks that the information may be accessed, shared, or used by someone inappropriately, says Robert L. McCarthy, dean of the School of Pharmacy, who has written several research papers on pharmacy ethics and patient privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology is great in that it can do a lot of very positive things,\u201d says McCarthy, who has a Ph.D. in law, policy, and society from Northeastern University in addition to his master\u2019s degree in hospital pharmacy. \u201cTechnology can help improve drug safety, make things easier for patients, and encourage physicians, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals to work together. But we have to make sure there are proper safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarthy co-teaches a class in pharmacy law and ethics at the Storrs campus with Professor Gerald Gianutsos, who has a JD in law in addition to his pharmacy Ph.D.<\/p>\n

Pharmacy students also are instructed in the latest business practices, privacy and confidentiality rules, health policies, and pharmacy communications.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying as much as we can to prepare them for this reality,\u201d McCarthy says. \u201cThe biggest challenge is that it is constantly evolving. Sometimes, we\u2019ll tell them one thing today and it will change tomorrow. It\u2019s a very dynamic time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decades ago, local pharmacists kept their patient\u2019s records on paper and the only people who had access to those records were individuals who worked in that pharmacy. Today, McCarthy says, a broad range of individuals have access to people\u2019s medication information including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, insurers, managed care companies, and even marketing firms.<\/p>\n

While patients are now routinely asked to sign forms approving the sharing of their medical information as part of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA<\/a>, controlling the release of electronic data is especially difficult.<\/p>\n

Some examples of ethical concerns and violations that McCarthy has used in his class include:<\/p>\n