Galva Pharmacy is First U.S. Pharmacy to Use AI to Improve Drug Matching and Usability of Rx Instructions in E-Prescriptions
DrFirst’s SmartSuite AI, with its patented SmartDrug and SmartSig, works within the Speed Script Pharmacy Management System to save pharmacists time, increase prescription accuracy, and improve patient safety
ROCKVILLE, Md – Galva Pharmacy in Galva, Ill., recently became the first pharmacy in the country to deploy an in-workflow, artificial intelligence (AI) solution that accurately structures, codifies, and back fills information gaps in electronic prescriptions. The independent pharmacy in Northwest Illinois is using DrFirst’s patented AI solution, SmartSuite, within its Speed Script pharmacy management system (PMS) to improve accuracy and efficiency, allowing pharmacy staff to spend more time with patients.
Even with widespread electronic prescribing, pharmacists are still plagued by the need to manually correct free text found in prescribing instructions, known as sigs, for 84% of new prescriptions, which can lead to errors, take time away from patients, and decrease pharmacy productivity.
Galva Pharmacy owner Scott Caravello, RPh, says the decision to add SmartSuite to his store’s PMS workflow was an easy one, given its commitment to patient safety and excellent customer service. “SmartSig and SmartDrug work seamlessly within our Speed Script system to make electronic prescriptions more usable with far fewer keystrokes. Because SmartSig automatically infers missing details in the prescription instructions, it cuts down the need to manually enter and type in data. But it does this only when it’s safe and clear, so patient safety is always preserved. In the end, SmartSuite helps our pharmacists reduce the chance for errors and gives them more time for patient counseling.”
Now available to pharmacies, SmartSig has been used by hospitals and health systems since 2015 to enhance the quality of more than 6 million prescriptions per day. The technology accurately translates 93% of patient directions, helping avoid medication errors and saving 10 seconds or more of work for each drug entered.
DrFirst’s SmartDrug uses a superior AI algorithm to pair specific drugs in electronic prescriptions to the equivalent medications used by a pharmacy’s PMS as well as the drugs on its shelves—which is particularly meaningful since prescribers and pharmacy systems rarely use the same national drug code (NDC).
“Galva Pharmacy’s leadership embracing AI technology will help improve patient safety and pharmacy productivity among independent pharmacies,” said G. Cameron Deemer, president of DrFirst. “With the SmartSuite solution, Galva and other pharmacies can empower pharmacists to work at the top of their licenses, spend less time on data entry tasks, and focus more on patients.”
DrFirst and Speed Script, a Kansas-based PMS and services provider, last year announced a partnership to help address safety, efficiency, and translation accuracy issues by integrating DrFirst’s SmartSuite into Speed Scripts’ PMS solution used by community and long-term care pharmacies nationwide.
About Speed Script
Speed Script has been providing flexible software solutions and adaptable technology services that enable independent pharmacies to effectively achieve their business goals. Our flagship products include Speed Script PRM, an all-inclusive pharmacy management system, Speed Script POS, an integrated point-of-sale system for managing front-end sales and Speed Script LTC (SSLTC), an electronic facility to pharmacy communication application—fully equipped with drug pass and eMAR technology for long-term care providers. For more than 40 years our defining attribute has been, and still remains, our dedication to sensational customer service.
About DrFirst
Since 2000, DrFirst has pioneered healthcare technology solutions and consulting services that securely connect people at touchpoints of care to improve patient outcomes. We create unconventional solutions that solve care collaboration, medication management, price transparency, and adherence challenges faced in healthcare. We unite the Healthiverse—the interconnected healthcare universe—by providing our clients with real-time access to the information they need, exactly when and how they need it, so patients get the best care possible. DrFirst solutions are used by nearly 300,000 healthcare professionals, including more than 100,000 prescribers, nearly half of the EHRs in the U.S., and more than 1,400 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada.
