University of Illinois at Springfield

1. Smartphone Apps for Prescription Refills
MIS 525 -Group 4
Fall 2013
By: Alaaeddin Mahmoud
Battushig Nyamsuren
Xuesong Yang
.

2. Introduction Industry Description
Pharmacy's core objective is to
provide prescription medications for
their customers.
 Pharmacies making profits by satisfy
their consumers so they will return
again; keep low operating costs and
provide better prices than other
competitors.
More than 44% of Americans take
prescription drugs daily.

3. Introduction Industry Description
 Medication dispensing errors can have serious – and even deadly – costs, and
pharmacists cannot cut corners to speed up the process.

4. Prescription-Filling Process

Prescription Drop-off.

Patient Profile Review.

Order Entry.

Order Fulfillment .

Final Check and Pick-up.

5. Prescription-Filling Process
 The steps involved in filling consumer’s prescriptions are carefully performed
to balance the critical need to protect safety with efficiency.

6. Enablers
 The Internet developed access to information, and consumers have been taking
benefit of this increased ease of access of health information.
 Smart-phone apps become very significant for millions of Americans who use them
daily to navigate through life .shopping, playing, reading, dating, learning, and more
with their fingertips.
 Using the introduction of smartphones, people are able to access resources with a
simple touch of their keypads.
 Apps are playing an increasing role in healthcare delivery and also for the training of
healthcare practitioners

7. Challenges to the Adoption of the Apps:
There still large numbers of consumers who still like to use the traditional way to refill.
Getting these people into the system is challenge and can be done by:
 Reducing the high Cost for the Smart phones. This can be done by making
partnership with Smartphone companies.
 Developed security and backup plans and adopted necessary strategy to address all
possible other threats.
 Always classified security and safety as number one concern and explain that to the
consumers.
 Explain the privacy procedure that the company adopted to use the technology.
 Add more features to help understanding the technology such as adding more
languages to select from and adding some features that can help people with
special needs to use the system.

8. Electronics Prescription Refilling

9. Companies
Company
Website
Apple
Android
Windows
Comment
Walgreens
http://www.walgreens.com/topic/
Yes
Yes
Yes
Reminds you to take medications, reward
apps/learn_about_mobile_apps.jsp
CVS
http://www.cvs.com/promo/
points, refill by scan.
Yes
Yes
Some features n/a
promoLandingTemplate.jsp?promoLandingId=mobile-pharmacy
Lowest Med
https://new.lowestmed.com/
Drug interaction checker, pill identifier,
prescription history
Yes
Yes
Yes
Compare best prices, locations and
discount codes.
GoodPx
https://www.goodrx.com/mobile
Yes
Yes
x
Compare best prices, locations and
discount codes.
OCT Plus
http://aceinnovationgroup.com/our-mobile-apps/otcplus-app/
Yes
Yes
x
Board-certified doctors provide list of over
the counter medications to treat
symptoms.
Rite Aid
https://www.riteaid.com/mobile-pharmacy-app
Yes
Yes
x
Discounts.

10. Mobile Apps Refilling the Prescriptions Common Features
 Easily refill prescriptions on the go type in
prescription number or scan RX code.
 Easily transfer prescriptions.
 Receive alerts when your prescription is ready to
refill and ready to pick-up.
 Set up helpful reminders to keep the patients on
track.
 Access prescriptions history

11. Mobile Apps Refilling by Scan Example

12. Mobile Apps Refilling the Prescriptions Others Features




Find the closest pharmacy location.
Check out Weekly Ads before start shopping
Browse products and check in-store availability
Exclusive mobile coupons and rewards which can redeem in store

13. Strengths
 Reduce cost by reducing the processing errors. Doctors able to
confirm prescriptions order electronically.
 Reduce paper works. Easy to share with doctors.
 Speed up and volume of prescriptions processed with high
quality.
 Attract more consumers who already use the smartphone to
shop in the pharmacy.
 Easily refill prescriptions on the go type in prescription number
or scan RX code.
 Easily transfer prescriptions.
 Consumers receive alerts when your prescription is ready to
refill and ready to pick-up.

14. Strengths-continue
 Set up helpful reminders to keep the patients on track.
 Both pharmacists and consumers have instant access to prescriptions
history.
 Consumers can search for the closest pharmacy location.
 Consumers can check out weekly Ads before start shopping.
 Consumers can browse products and check in-store availability.
 Exclusive mobile coupons and rewards which can redeem in store.

15. Weakness
 Start-up costs for implementing, developing or purchasing a system including.
 converting patient charts to electronic format cost.
 Continuing maintenance and training a new system cost.
 Large numbers of the consumers not smartphone savvy especially elderly
consumers who still like to shop for their prescriptions using the traditional way.
 The cost of the smartphones still consider high.
 Security and confidentiality issues.

16. Opportunities
Companies need to prove that this competition build on “Fact and Faith” not
“Fear” form the competitors.
 Improve quality .
 Reduce the cost .
 Speed the processing time .
 Make profits by getting more people into the new system.
 Make profits by signing partnership contract with smartphone companies to
improve the quality and reduce the price.
 New features can be added to help disable people and people with special need.

17. Threats:
 Privacy, security and confidentiality concerns of
electronic and medical records.
 Failure of the software/hardware might cause big
problem if there no alternative plan.
 Hackers Threat needs to be address.

18. Real-World Example 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GkqJT0N28A

19. Real-World Example 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVGMmCZjJmE

20. Real-World Example 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUp8fjXvJu4

21. Conclusion and Recommendation
 Although Smartphone Apps can’t replace the current traditional system to refill
 perception; but it’s clear huge step to help both patients and pharmacies to reduce
errors, costs and increase quality.
 Companies who adopted this technology will get more benefit by getting more people
into the system and Speed up and volume of prescriptions processed with high
 quality.
 There are wide Opportunities to both drug companies and smartphones companies to
have partnership and increase profits.

22. Conclusion and Recommendation –continue
 Companies need to adopted necessary strategy to address all possible threats.
 Pharmacies need to do better job on marketing to help elderly people to get into the
system by providing more discounts and explaining how this technology will help save
lives.
 We recommend adding new features to the Apps such as features to help disable and
consumers with special needs to use the system and support the Apps with multi
languages translator software to help diversity of consumers understand and use the
system.

23. References
 S. Silow-Carroll and B. Smith, Clinical Management Apps: Creating
Partnerships Between Providers and Patients, The Commonwealth
Fund, November 2013.
 http://mobihealthnews.com/23008/slideshow-big-retail-pharmacyapps-with-prescription-refill/
 http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2013-rst/7543.html
 http://public.rxpert.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=4
 https://bb.uis.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-291714-dt-content-rid1400110_1/courses/133MIS52512404/999MIS525gribbins_ImportedC
ontent_20121231104657%281%29/IT%20Security.pdf
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23017375
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone
 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15398285.2011.623567
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUp8fjXvJu4
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GkqJT0N28A