Closing the Gap Between Pharmacies and Care Teams
Every day, caregivers in senior living communities depend on accurate, timely medication records to keep residents safe. When that information travels by fax, phone or manual entry, delays and transcription errors can occur. For residents managing multiple prescriptions, the stakes are high.
The Scope of the Problem
Medication errors are not isolated incidents. Research has documented risks in pharmacy dispensing and long-term care:
- A national observational study estimated 51.5 million dispensing errors annually across 3 billion prescriptions filled in the United States.1
Residents in senior living communities may take multiple medications, making accurate records and timely communication between pharmacies and care teams especially important.
A systematic review published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that medication errors affected 16%–27% of nursing home residents in studies examining all types of medication errors. In studies examining transfer-related medication errors, 13%–31% of residents were affected. These findings highlight the importance of accurate medication information during care transitions.2
Research into adverse drug events in long-term care facilities has also identified prescribing and monitoring as important stages where preventable events originate. Improving the flow of medication information between pharmacies and care teams can support safer workflows alongside clinical review and monitoring.3
Automating the Handoff
Pharmacy Connect by Residex® reduces manual transcription and re-entry of pharmacy medication orders. It creates a secure, real-time connection between a long-term care (LTC) pharmacy and a community’s electronic medication administration record (eMAR), allowing medication orders to flow directly to the care team.
Pharmacy Connect delivers:
- New orders, changes, holds and discontinuations sent directly to the community’s eMAR
- Up-to-date medication records to support caregivers during administration
- HIPAA-compliant, encrypted data exchange
- Connections to supported pharmacy software systems
- Support for recording authorized medication order changes within the community’s workflow
The Impact on Both Sides
| For Senior Living Communities | For LTC Pharmacies |
| Real-time eMAR updates Reduced manual transcription and re-entry Up-to-date records to support each medication pass |
Less time spent on manual order handoffs Electronic order routing to reduce fax follow-up Connections to supported pharmacy software |
Get Started
Interested in learning how Pharmacy Connect can support your community? Visit residex.ai/pharmacy-connect to learn more. Already using Residex? Ask your account team about activating Pharmacy Connect.
Sources:
1. Flynn EA, Barker KN, Carnahan BJ. National observational study of prescription dispensing accuracy and safety in 50 pharmacies. J Am Pharm Assoc (Wash). 2003;43(2):191–200.
2. Ferrah N, Lovell JJ, Ibrahim JE. Systematic review of the prevalence of medication errors resulting in hospitalization and death of nursing home residents. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017;65(2):433–442.
3. Gurwitz JH, et al. The incidence of adverse drug events in two large academic long-term care facilities. Am J Med. 2005;118(3):251–258.