European Association of Hospital Pharmacists 2011 Vienna Congress Lecture Will Touch on Telepharmacy

The 16th Congress of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists is taking place starting at the end of this month, March 30th through April 1st, 2011 in Vienna, Austria. At least one of the lectures, "A need for hospital pharmacist specialization?" will touch on "Providing telepharmacy services to rural and remote areas."

University research group compiles rural Telepharmacy policy brief for Federal Government

The Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center, a group from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center and the University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health who focus on the quality of rural health care, prepared a policy brief for the US federal government (available here), who will likely use it to set national policy regarding telepharmacy.

The full report's summary:

Implementation of Telepharmacy in Rural Hospitals: Potential for Improving Medication Safety - Findings from this new report and policy brief describe successful telepharmacy activities being implemented in rural hospitals and analyze policy issues related to the implementation of telepharmacy projects in rural hospitals.

The following pharmacies participated in the data collection:

Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy
Cross Ridge Community Hospital, Wynne, Arkansas
St. Bernard’s Medical Center, Jonesboro, Arkansas
Idaho State Board of Pharmacy
St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center, Ketchum, Idaho
St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center, Meridian, Idaho
Minnesota State Board of Pharmacy
Ely-Bloomenson Hospital, Ely, Minnesota
St. Luke’s Hospital, Duluth, Minnesota
Wheatland Memorial Hospital, Harlowton, Montana
St. Vincent’s Hospital, Billings, Montana
North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy
North Dakota State University College of Pharmacy
Heart of America Medical Center, Rugby, North Dakota
Lisbon Area Health Services, Lisbon, North Dakota
Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy
Atoka Memorial Hospital, Atoka, Oklahoma
South Dakota State Board of Pharmacy
Lead-Deadwood Regional Hospital, Deadwood, South Dakota
Texas State Board of Pharmacy
Envision Telepharmacy, Alpine, Texas
Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing
Allen Memorial Hospital, Moab, Utah
San Juan Hospital, Monticello, Utah
University of Utah
Washington State Board of Pharmacy
Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane, Washington
Coulee Community Hospital, Grand Coulee, Washington

Support for this report was provided by the Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration, PHS Grant No. 5U1CRH03717-02-00.