Innovators are creating new pathways to healthcare. As a specialist in the industry, Andy Donald, understands that delivering new solutions for patient care could drastically change lives.
Donald, a Certified Geriatric Pharmacist and CEO of The Health Depot, is committed to changing the face of pharmacy by helping patients take control of their health with a convenient, informed, and safe way to access medicine amid COVID-19.
Using The Health Depot’s online platform, patients gain access to everything they might need from their local pharmacy at the click of a button: guidance on their medications from certified pharmacists, access to information about their prescriptions, and the purchase of over-the-counter essentials to maintain their general health. The Health Depot even delivers prescriptions anywhere in Ontario — free of charge.
This marks a timely solution amid physical distancing guidelines. Individuals who choose to have their medications delivered through The Health Depot can take comfort in reducing their risk of transmission, and be spared the inconvenience of waiting in long lines.
We’re helping people to ‘Stay Healthy, Stay Home’. We are bringing the pharmacy to you. You don’t have to visit a pharmacy where there is a risk of transmission. This is particularly important for those most affected by the virus, those who are older, immunocompromised or have chronic medical conditions. By having access to the same information that hospitals have, it allows us to collaborate with doctors, enabling us to provide the best possible care for the patient. Our original motivation for this venture was to improve patient care within our healthcare system. We wanted to bring the level of collaboration, currently only seen in hospitals, into the community setting. Although still a motivation, what currently matters most is to help flatten the curve and reduce transmission of COVID-19. We need to help everyone to stay healthy and stay home.
What marks an easier and more convenient way to stay healthy in the current climate also signifies a step towards individualized medicine and better outcomes for patients. Donald noted to a panel of technology and business leaders in TechAlliance’s The Experts on Friday, that The Health Depot brings so much more value than drug delivery alone — this is just the beginning.
What remains one of the biggest problems in healthcare worldwide is polypharmacy, meaning that individuals end up taking too many drugs all at once. Oftentimes, medical professionals find themselves faced with adjusting or de-prescribing medicine to reduce adverse effects.
Using the ClinicalConnect network, a database for health records in Southwestern Ontario, The Health Depot can access patient data to personalize care to each individual. As experts in medication, their pharmacists can optimize patients’ drugs to tailor solutions based on their particular health data, and reduce the risk of side effects from taking more medications than they need.
Simply put, when medical professionals act in alignment, healthcare becomes less reactionary, more preventative, and much easier to manage. These days, with a pandemic still in view, the need for technology-powered solutions is more urgent than ever.
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