Applications of Computers in pharmacy MADE BY: SIR NASEEM AHMED KHAN DOW VOCATIONAL & TECHNICAL TRAINING CENTRE

What are the applications of Computers in pharmacy? Right now computers and pharmacy go hand in hand. Drug and patient database management; order entry systems; drug information; billing; purchasing; automated dispensing units; and on and ON! If you have a background in both health care and computers/computer science you will be a hot product. Today we can exchange health information and provide services across geographic, time and social boundaries.

Computer & Medical Education Computers have revolutionized the way education is handled in the today’s world.. In medical education, computers are particularly useful because there is such a need for learning and presenting large amounts of data, getting and comparing accurate study and test results, and effectively monitoring patients.

Health informatics Health care informatics or medical informatics is the intersection of information science, computer science, and health care. It deals with the resources, devices, and methods required to optimize the acquisition (gaining), storage, retrieval, and use of information in health and biomedicine. Health informatics tools include not only computers but also clinical guidelines, formal medical terminologies, and information and communication systems. It is applied to the areas of nursing, clinical care, dentistry, pharmacy, public health and (bio)medical research.

Computer-aided design of drugs A further refinement of new drug design and production was provided by the process of computer-aided design (CAD). With the availability of powerful computers and sophisticated graphics software, it is possible for the medicinal chemist to design new molecules and evaluate their effectiveness.

Presentations The field of medicine often relies on complex definitions of conditions and procedural techniques. If you are an educator, use the computer to show your medical students PowerPoint presentations that simplify the large amounts of text often needed in medical science. Stick to the basics in the visual presentations. You also may use computers to present video data of medical policies or procedures, or for slide shows of diseases or traumas and their treatments.

Papers If you are doing a medical research study, you can use the computer to write your findings, format a paper for publication, find relevant studies on the Internet or print posters for medical conferences. If you use the Internet, stick to reputable information sources such as electronic versions of medical journals. Being able to write these kinds of papers is crucial in establishing your credibility as a medical professional because they show that you have an understanding of one or more medical topics and are able to conduct research and present information.

Simulations Because medicine involves hands-on work, medical students need to practice procedures before they do the procedure for real on a patient. Use computer programs that simulate surgery and other procedures to meet this need.

Informational Storage Computers can store massive amounts of data. Use a computer or personal digital assistant to take and store notes on any patients you may see as you go on supervised rounds. This makes it much easier to find the medical information you need when discussing the patient and reduces the physical amount of papers and texts you need to carry with you. This is very important in medicine, since efficiency and ease of referencing medical information impacts the speed and accuracy of patient treatment.

Testing and Self Evaluation Use computers to take tests on medical subjects or to quiz yourself on medical data. The advantage of this is that you can get immediate feedback and do not need to depend on your instructor to review information or to find out how well you have learned. If you use this method, keep your tests or reviews short and use them often rather than having huge long tests and reviews. You are more likely to retain information if you use it frequently, and in medicine, you'll also be called on to pull many medical facts daily from memory.

Drug Information Services Pharmaceutical companies are responsible for providing updated, relevant information on the efficacy, safety and quality of drugs to medical professionals and finally to patients. To fulfill this responsibility, they developed a drug information database system to manage various information generated during development of new products and after launch of the products. This system is incorporated into an on-line network system, and can be directly accessed by thousands of people all over the world.

INFORMATION SYSTEM IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY An information system (IS) is any combination of information technology and people's activities using that technology to support operations, management, and decision-making. Advanced pharmaceutical companies are realizing that the implementation of information management technologies in their operations can greatly enhance their chances for success by reducing their time-to-market and enhancing efficiency in their production runs.