In October, HMWB pharmacy launched an innovative, new workflow using voice-controlled technology. When a provider submits an order in Epic for a life-threatening bleed, an immediate voice announcement is sent to an Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker located in the pharmacy. The Amazon Alexa virtual assistant will then announce, “Important pharmacist message! An urgent order is awaiting verification in Epic. Please evaluate immediately.”
If no one is in the immediate area to hear the announcement, the light ring around the Echo Dot will flash yellow until the pharmacist instructs Alexa to “Tell me my notifications.”
Within hours of the pilot launch, the HMWB pharmacy received a bleeding reversal agent order. The pharmacist heard the announcement and immediately directed attention to this high-priority task, saving time and lives. This technology doesn’t exist anywhere else in the industry. Other Alexa algorithms being developed by HM System Pharmacy Informatics include patient education functions and auto-answering patient questions, redirecting patients to pharmacists when appropriate.
