With the adoption of virtual platforms across healthcare since the pandemic, telepharmacy—the use of telecommunications by pharmacists to provide patient care—has become increasingly important to the success of pharmacists and our daily work. The need for remote pharmacy care has only been heightened by a U.S. pharmacist shortage, largely due to burnout from our working conditions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 2% decrease in our profession this decade—well below the 5% average growth rate for all occupations—leading to longer wait times for medications and shortened pharmacy hours.
Fortunately, telepharmacy has emerged as a viable alternative to in-person pharmacy care, leading to similar clinical outcomes for patients. Telepharmacy programs have helped address geographic disparities in access to care. Notably, in 2001, North Dakota was the first state to implement such a statewide program, helping over 80,000 rural residents to restore, retain, or acquire pharmacy care. Since then, at least 34 states have implemented some form of policy supporting access to remote pharmacy services.
Recognizing the importance of flexibility and security in telepharmacy, Doximity has made its telehealth platform (Doximity Dialer) and virtual fax feature freely available to pharmacists and student pharmacists nationwide. Here’s what other pharmacists I spoke to have to say about using Doximity’s telepharmacy tools to serve our patients:
“I use [Doximity] almost every day in clinic for my virtual appointments. It gives patients peace of mind around who is calling instead of using ‘unknown caller’. It gives me reassurance to know that I’m not accidentally giving away my phone number.”
-Justine Seymour, PharmD, Wilkes-Barre, PA
"I could not do my job without Doximity Dialer. As pharmacist roles expand to include clinical services, tools like Dialer become even more important because they allow me to provide patient care from anywhere."
-Elizabeth Eggleston, PharmD, Boise, ID
"I routinely use the no-reply text messaging when I can't get through to patients about highly sensitive information. This allows me to notify them to contact our clinic immediately."
-Paula Moore, BSPharm, PharmD, NCTTP, Dallas, TX
“Doximity Dialer is extremely useful to me in my practice. I use it regularly for faxing prior authorizations and clinical documents to insurance companies as well as calling patients when working remotely.”
-Jordan Orofino, PharmD, Chicago, IL
To sum up, here are the benefits for U.S. pharmacists using Doximity's HIPAA-compliant telepharmacy suite:
- Doximity Dialer is free for all U.S. based pharmacists. Dialer gives pharmacists flexibility of location, and allows pharmacists to choose the phone number and name displayed on the receiving patient’s phone when initiating a phone call protecting their private phone number.
- Dialer's no-reply texting feature is effective and efficient for scheduling appointments, following up with patients, and providing additional medication information.
- Dialer can be used on mobile and desktop platforms, and from Epic Haiku.
- Doximity's Fax tool allows users to scan documents, as well as sign, date, and annotate faxes directly on their mobile phones. The app can be used to securely receive medication orders and send them back to prescribers without compromising patient privacy. Pharmacists can also use Fax to aid in referring or transitioning a patient to another pharmacist.
It’s clear there’s value in leveraging Doximity’s telepharmacy tools to serve our patients. As the use of technology in patient care increases, I’m excited to see how telepharmacy evolves and how forward-thinking companies like Doximity advance clinician flexibility and patient access.
1.Download and launch the Doximity App.
2.Select the "Dialer" tab at the bottom of the screen.
3.Advance through the on-screen instructions, and that's it!
Full set-up and usage details are available here.
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Learn more about what you can do with your free Dialer account.