Pharmacy Services in Telepharmacy: how’s it working, where it’s working, and what’s required to practice in this new setting.

Abstract

Telepharmacy is a rapidly growing area of communication within pharmaceutical care delivery, es- pecially in rural areas. The purpose of this literature review was to determine where telepharmacy is currently being practiced within community and ambulatory pharmacy settings and the effectiveness of it. Additionally, state rules and regulations for the upper Midwest region were compared and con- trasted to analyze how specific states are addressing the use of telepharmacy practice within the specified settings. A systematic literature review was performed using PubMed, Ovid Medline, and the Google Scholar search engine. State specific rules were researched using board of pharmacy and legislative online resources. Overall, telepharmacy was found to be an effective and safe delivery method to communi- cate with patients regarding their medications. It has been successfully implemented within community pharmacy settings through the creation of remote dispensing sites, which is evident through literature analysis. The focus of state regulations on telepharmacy services and practices shows the growth and ac- ceptance of this modality of pharmacy practice. There is wide variation among Midwest state regulations pertaining to the setup and operation of telepharmacies. Trends in telemedicine show that telepharma- ceutical care is likely to continue to expand as it allows for a better allocation of resources and access to more patients. Further primary research needs to be completed to specifically analyze telepharmacy cost-effectiveness.