IntercomPlus is the name of the Walgreen Company's proprietary pharmacy

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

 computer system. Originally founded as Intercom in 1981, it was the first large scale retail pharmacy computer system http://www.walgreens.com/about/careers/technology/advtech.jsp?cf=ln. It relies on VSAT satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

 access and/or broadband

Broadband

The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...

 connections to link the over 8,000 Walgreens retail, mail service, and specialty pharmacies. Through its usage, Intercom made Walgreens the largest private user of satellite transmission data in the world, second only to the U.S. Government http://www.walgreens.com/about/careers/technology/advtech.jsp?cf=ln. It has highly advanced capabilities which enable pharmacy staff to put their focus on patient

Patient

A patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....

 care rather than pharmacy logistics. The design of the system enables seamless store-to-store prescription

Medical prescription

A prescription is a health-care program implemented by a physician or other medical practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual patient. Prescriptions may include orders to be performed by a patient, caretaker, nurse, pharmacist or other therapist....

 filling, making filling a refill at a location other than where it was filled originally essentially no different than filling it again at the original location.

IC+ is written in Team Developer, from Unify (formerly Centura), and comprises the following applications:

• TeamRX
• Pharmacy Management
• Laser Printer/Thermal Printer Settings
• Strategic Inventory Management System (SIMS)
• StoreNet/RXNet
• Scale Sign On
• Consultation (CAP)
• RX Savings Advisor
• Corporate E-Mail Sever
• RX Compliance Advisor

Intercom Plus is consistently being improved for maximum accuracy and performance.

TeamRX

This application is the core of IC+. Paper prescriptions are scanned so that the image can be retained electronically (a program called Walgreens VISION). The scanned image can then be sent to other Walgreens locations through DWB (Dynamic Workload Balancing) or POWER (Pharmacy Optimization Within Enterprise Re-Engineering) for various purposes (data entry or data review). The paper prescription is kept on file per local or state laws. In certain states, the computerized image serves as the legal copy of the prescription and the original paper hard copy becomes the Third Party Audit Record (3PAR).

After the patient, drug, and prescriber information has been entered (often by a technician or pharmacy intern), the prescription is double checked (by a registered pharmacist) to ensure the information was entered accurately. Intercom Plus's ALPS program generates a leaflet for the prescription. The technician then scans the leaflet on a Check-weigh Scale and the system generates a vial label for the prescription after the system performs a National Drug Code (NDC) validation via scanner. The vial label is placed appropriately sized container for the prescription. The system automatically checks the patient's current medication list for any potential drug interactions via Drug Utilization Reviews (DUR).

Intercom Plus is also used to refill prescriptions and lookup patient records from any Walgreens nationwide.

The work queue is used to view entered, printed, filled, and ready prescriptions. It is a searchable database containing all active prescriptions for the store.

Pharmacy Management

Pharmacy Management is used to change drug locations, lookup pharmacy staff information, generate reports, and complete miscellaneous tasks. It also features "dial a pharmacist" which allows a pharmacy team member to call a pharmacist currently signed on to IC+ at another location in order to provide care to patients who speak another language.

Strategic Inventory Management System

This application serves as the store's inventory mainframe. Using this program, pharmacy staff members can verify counts of various items and serves as the proprietary software for receiving and distribution within the company.

StoreNet/RXNet/WalNet

This is the web interface used by the Walgreen Corporate Staff to interact with Store and District Personnel. StoreNet is used to access various healthcare databases, applications such as People Plus Learning Online Training Program, Basic Department Merchandising Planograms set for all stores, Picture Care Plus Photo Order Management System, Key Performance Indicatiors for both store and district, Market and Labor Scheduling, and various other applications, information, and forms.

Scale Sign On

Members of the pharmacy team (pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and interns) must sign onto the filling scales (Check-weigh Scales) in order to use them.

CAP/Consultation Application

This is a program designed to assist Pharmacists in consulting patients. The system maintains a database of patient "charts" and streamlines tasks such as Consultation, Patient DURs, and various other Pharmacist-Specific Tasks. The CAP Application is an important part of the POWER program.

RX Savings Advisor

This is a program that assists pharmacy staff members in enrolling patients in the Prescription Savings Club (PSC) and consulting Medicare beneficiaries in selecting a Medicare Prescription Drug (Part D) Plan.

RX Compliance Advisor

An extension of the CAP Application, this program allows pharmacy staff members to recommend various options that increase medication compliance.