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 (2min)
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.
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