Pharmacy Pharmacy Informatics and Technology 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A pharmacy information system (PIS) primarily serves which function?
- Diagnosing patient medical conditions
- Managing prescription processing, drug utilization review, and dispensing workflow (Correct answer)
- Generating physician clinical notes
- Ordering laboratory tests
Correct answer: Managing prescription processing, drug utilization review, and dispensing workflow
A Pharmacy Information System manages the full dispensing workflow: prescription intake, DUR (drug utilization review), filling, verification, labeling, and patient records — the core IT backbone of pharmacy operations.
Question 2: Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tools embedded in pharmacy software are designed to:
- Replace pharmacist judgment entirely
- Alert pharmacists to drug interactions, allergies, and dosing issues at the point of dispensing (Correct answer)
- Process insurance claims automatically
- Store patient financial information securely
Correct answer: Alert pharmacists to drug interactions, allergies, and dosing issues at the point of dispensing
CDS tools provide real-time alerts and recommendations (drug interaction warnings, allergy flags, dose-range checks) to assist pharmacists in making safer clinical decisions during prescription verification.
Question 3: In hospital pharmacy, an Automated Dispensing Cabinet (ADC) like Pyxis or Omnicell is used to:
- Compound sterile IV preparations in a clean room
- Securely store and dispense medications at the point of care on nursing units (Correct answer)
- Generate electronic prescriptions for physicians
- Perform CPOE (computerized provider order entry)
Correct answer: Securely store and dispense medications at the point of care on nursing units
ADCs are secure, computerized drug storage devices located on nursing units. They control medication access, track inventory, and create an audit trail — improving safety and reducing pharmacy turnaround time.
Question 4: Electronic Health Records (EHRs) improve medication safety primarily through:
- Eliminating the need for pharmacist review
- Enabling seamless sharing of medication lists, allergy data, and clinical information across care settings (Correct answer)
- Automatically dispensing medications to patients
- Replacing patient counseling with automated voice messages
Correct answer: Enabling seamless sharing of medication lists, allergy data, and clinical information across care settings
EHRs allow providers across care settings to access up-to-date medication lists, allergy histories, lab values, and clinical notes — reducing errors from incomplete medication histories and improving care coordination.
Question 5: HL7 FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is a standard used in pharmacy informatics for:
- Encrypting controlled substance prescriptions for DEA compliance
- Enabling interoperability and data exchange between different healthcare IT systems (Correct answer)
- Calculating drug dosing for pediatric patients
- Automating insurance prior authorization decisions
Correct answer: Enabling interoperability and data exchange between different healthcare IT systems
HL7 FHIR is a modern health data interoperability standard that enables different EHR systems, pharmacy software, and health apps to exchange clinical data using standard APIs and resource formats.
Question 6: Telepharmacy allows pharmacists to supervise dispensing in remote locations via technology. It is most valuable for:
- Urban hospital pharmacies with high dispensing volumes
- Rural or underserved areas lacking on-site pharmacist access (Correct answer)
- Specialty pharmacy compounding oversight only
- Reducing the number of pharmacists needed in metropolitan areas
Correct answer: Rural or underserved areas lacking on-site pharmacist access
Telepharmacy extends pharmacy services to rural, remote, or critical-access hospitals and clinics where on-site pharmacist staffing is cost-prohibitive, improving medication access and safety in underserved areas.
Pharmacy Pharmacy Informatics and Technology 1
A pharmacy information system (PIS) primarily serves which function?