This year’s Earth Day puts a spotlight on investing in our planet for a healthier tomorrow. Together we can reduce, reuse and recycle to make a big difference. While everyone has a responsibility in environmental sustainability, pharmacists are uniquely positioned to use their role, as trusted health care professionals, to take the initiative in preserving the environment. As a pharmacy, what steps are you taking to reduce your carbon footprint? And you may be wondering, what steps can you take?
According to the International Pharmaceutical Federation, pharmacists have many opportunities to minimize the effect their practice has on the environment through changes in “prescribing, dispensing, pharmaceutical care and disposal of unused medicines, as well as waste discharge into the environment.”1
So, what can you do to make a difference? Digitizing patient health information is a great place to start. The paper inserts that contain medication details such as drug monographs, manufacturer information, patient education or special offers have long been included when a patient picks up their prescription at the pharmacy. But what if that information could be provided another way and always kept up to date electronically?
Did you know? More than 100 billion pages of paper are printed and distributed as package inserts for medications delivered to pharmacies each year.2
EnlivenHealth’s Digital Medication Guides (“eMedGuides”), a patent pending process, enables pharmacies to distribute electronic, digital versions of patient medication information that is currently distributed via paper such as eMedGuides, VIS, monograph and other educational or promotional material. eMedGuides are available to patients in real-time via SMS/text message, native mobile app push notifications and by email. EnlivenHealth’s eMedGuides enable pharmacies to:
- Reduce carbon footprint
- Increase revenue by reducing toner and printer expenses
- Advance pharmacy productivity
- Improve health outcomes and the patient experience
Contributing to a better, more sustainable environment doesn’t have to be difficult. eMedGuides makes implementation and everyday use easy. By automating electronic medication documentation, pharmacies can significantly reduce paper and printer toner use — all without taking additional steps to implement or having to make any Rx label changes.
What kind of results can you expect with eMedGuides? On average, for every 100 stores that use eMedGuides, pharmacies see an annual savings of: *
- 7.7 MM pages
- 993 trees
- 777 toner cartridges
- $200,000 in paper and toner expenses
*based on 50% SMS opt-in
Ready to see how EnlivenHealth’s Digital Medication Guides can help you reduce your pharmacy’s carbon footprint? Schedule a demo with an expert today.
1 Zuzana K, Besancon L. Green pharmacy practice: Taking responsibility for the environmental impact of medicines. International Pharmaceutical Federation; 2015.
2 “Prescription e-Labels Are Past Due.” Prescription E-Labels Are Past Due – Healthcare Leadership Council, Healthcare Leadership Council.