Technology
Healthcare is undergoing a revolution through the digital technologies that are growing in all aspects of practice. Pharmacists are in a position to utilize novel digital health products and services to expand patient care endeavors. This discussion will review the breadth of digital health technologies and the use case for these technologies in pharmacy.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Sterile Compounding and Augmented Reality
Training in sterile compounding is a component of pharmacy education and training across the country. The resources required for this training can be prohibitive due to the time, personnel, and space requirements. Coordinating the resources, trainee experiences, and feedback required in appropriate training is a universal problem for schools of pharmacy, hospital pharmacies, and institutions that provide customized pharmacy sterile compounding for healthcare. Our work has focused on iterating an augmented reality platform to train users in sterile compounding practices using custom hardware controllers and software to teach concepts of air flow and aseptic technique. V1 Link ; V2 Link; V3 Link; V4 Link
Augmented Reality in Surgery – Video Example
Data
Pharmacy is experiencing a vast growth of data. From molecular, clinical, financial, and other sources, data volume is outgrowing data utility. The technical expertise of data science and the application of data in health have great potential for improving operational, financial, and clinical outcomes. The challenge is bridging technical expertise with data and content expertise in healthcare. The opportunities with data at the Pharmacy Innovation Lab will bridge this gap.
Education
Pharmacy education is facing a future in which students will be required to extend their contribution to patient care, practice, and health care beyond just knowledge. The pharmacy profession will demand of students skills required to succeed in this new age. These different approaches to education test, adapt, and growth through the efforts of the Innovation Lab.
The Innovation curriculum includes courses, experiential learning, and projects across a variety of settings. Some of the courses include Python, Pharmacy Innovation, and Special Topics.
Learn more about current courses Program here
Pharmacy Innovation Experience Research (PIER)
This program offered by the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy to high school and undergraduate students to help navigate and learn about the various paths of pharmacy through an innovative curriculum, lifelong mentorship, and unique experiential sites. More than 200 students have been through this program to strengthen and diversify the pharmacy pipeline.
Learn more about the Program here
Innovation Project
Early learners exposure to pharmacy
This project’s goal is to inform and inspire K-12 students about the pharmacy profession. Student pharmacists created storylines, researched pharmaceutical care within the episode, and participated in team-wide reviews to complete four game episodes. Topics covered included vaccination hesitancy, inhaler technique for pediatric administration, unconscious bias, and career pathway decision. The episodes were piloted and present locally to start then nationally. The episodes created will continue to be utilized by the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in its efforts towards recruiting and acquainting middle school students to the field of pharmacy.