Pharmacy Management Solution: Datahouse Technology LLC Extends VIP Pharmacy Management Offerings With Prescription Refill Solution Based On Envox CT ADE

Challenge:
For almost 25 years, Datahouse Technology LLC has been helping independent pharmacies across the southeastern United States leverage information technologies to optimize their operations. They offer the VIP Pharmacy Management System, a complete pharmacy management solution with clinical database, accounts receivable, nursing home, inventory, electronic signature capture and point-of-sale cash register modules. Though the Pharmacy Management System was working well in over 300 pharmacies, VIP customers wanted more. They wanted a way to better serve their customers – both patients and healthcare providers – and requested an IVR solution for automating prescription refill and order requests.

Datahouse Technology knew that they needed to expand their solution to include interactive voice response (IVR) capabilities. Their challenge lay in developing the application. They had extensive programming resources, but they lacked voice expertise. However, they still wanted to develop the IVR solution in-house to ensure that the voice capabilities would be tightly integrated with their core software processes, maximizing functionality and limiting support issues. To make this project successful, Datahouse Technology needed a development tool that would minimize the expertise their team needed by providing pre-built telephony tools and allow them to easily add interactive voice response capabilities to their pharmacy management solution.

Solution:
Datahouse Technology chose Envox CT ADE™, one of the most widely used interactive voice response (IVR) development tools in the industry, to develop and deploy the IVR capability for the VIP Pharmacy Management Software. Using the tool, they developed an IVR solution that provides automated services for both patients and healthcare providers. Patients can use the system to request prescription refills 24 hours a day. The system then computes a pickup time for the customer based on parameters in the pharmacy system. Prescriptions that require authorization for additional refills are automatically faxed to the patients' physician for approval. The IVR system is also integrated with the pharmacy phone system so that anyone requiring personal assistance can be quickly routed to a pharmacist. And, patients are also able to use the solution to access driving direction, store hours and other general information. For healthcare providers, the system accelerates prescription processing by allowing them to report prescription and patient information to the pharmacy entirely through the IVR system without having to wait for a pharmacist.

Datahouse Technology relied on Envox CT ADE to extend their development capabilities into the voice arena. Their programmers utilized its powerful programming tools to quickly build the IVR solution's application logic. Its native APIs for controlling telephony resources enabled them to answer calls and interpret the prescription data customers entered onto a telephone keypad. Support for ActiveX objects ensured that the IVR functionality would interface seamlessly with their pharmacy management software modules.

Results:
By using Envox CT ADE, Datahouse Technology was able to limit development costs, speed time-to-market and profitably launch their new offering. Thanks to Envox CT ADE, Datahouse Technology was able to leverage their existing developer skills and quickly develop the prescription refill solution and fully integrate it with their core software processes.

"Envox CT ADE enabled us to quickly extend our software to offer the IVR capabilities our customers were demanding," said Sam Willingham of Datahouse Technology LLC. "Our partnership with Envox Worldwide allows us to utilize advanced voice technologies to gain a competitive advantage."

IVR for VIP Pharmacy Management enables independent pharmacies to compete with large chains by providing 24 hour prescription refill service while still maintaining the personal touch that many patients prefer. It also improves pharmacy employee productivity, speeds prescription delivery rates and lowers overall operational expenses.

Many independent pharmacies have already reaped the benefits of the new IVR solution. David Kelly owns and operates David's Discount Pharmacy, a high volume store in Alabama. He installed IVR for VIP Pharmacy Management to better serve customers complaining that they couldn't get through to place prescription orders, sometimes for days. "The positive reaction to our new IVR solution has been tremendous – from both patients and doctors," said David Kelly. "Now we can process prescription requests faster than ever before, and save money filling each one."

About Datahouse Technology, LLC
Datahouse Technology, LLC has been servicing the retail drugstore in the southeast for over 20 years. The company takes pride in offering a high level of customer support and advanced features. From software, hardware, networking, and remote services, Datahouse Technology provides solutions that allow pharmacies to only depend on one provider to handle most of their systems needs. For more information please visit www.data-house.com.

About VIP Pharmacy Management System
The VIP Pharmacy Management System was first developed in 1985 by registered pharmacists with over 20 years of managerial pharmacy experience and systems analysts with more than 27 years of computer programming experience. They also have more than 50 years of combined pharmacy software development experience and customer support and training experience. Together they have established a record that very few companies can match - unprecedented year-over-year growth since its inception. The result of their joint effort is the most comprehensive, yet easy-to-use pharmacy management system available today. For more information, please visit www.vip-pharmacy.com.

About Envox Worldwide
Envox Worldwide is a leading global provider of voice solutions. The company's software products and related services dramatically reduce the time, cost and complexity of creating voice solutions and empower enterprises and service providers to significantly reduce operating costs, improve customer satisfaction and retention and generate new revenue streams. Headquartered in Boston, Envox products are available through a network of global channel partners. For more information, please visit www.envox.com.