"Telepharmacy is working well in North Dakota. It is a great way to restore and retain pharmacy services for many remote rural communities throughout the state. Telepharmacy services produce the same quality as the traditional mode of delivery and provide some value-added features that are not found in traditional pharmacy practice."

Dr. Charles D. Peterson, Dean, Professor, and Principal Investigator/Director, ND Telepharmacy Project, NDSU College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences

What is telepharmacy?

Through the use of state-of-the-art telecommunications technology, pharmacists are able to provide pharmaceutical care to patients at a distance. Telepharmacy expands access to quality health care to communities nationwide, primarily in rural, medically-underserved areas.

Through the North Dakota Telepharmacy Project, a licensed pharmacist at a central pharmacy site supervises a registered pharmacy technician at a remote telepharmacy site through the use of video conferencing technology.  The technician prepares the prescription drug for dispensing by the pharmacist. The pharmacist communicates face-to-face in real time with the technician and the patient through audio and video computer links. The North Dakota Telepharmacy Project is a collaboration of the NDSU College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences, the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy, and the North Dakota Pharmacists Association. North Dakota was the first state to pass administrative rules allowing retail pharmacies to operate in certain remote areas without requiring a pharmacist to be present.

As of January 2006, fifty-seven pharmacies are involved in the North Dakota Telepharmacy Project, twenty-one central pharmacy sites and thirty-six remote telepharmacy sites. Of the fifty-seven pharmacies involved, forty-four are retail pharmacies and thirteen are hospital pharmacies.  Thirty-three counties (62%) in North Dakota are involved in the project and two in Minnesota.  (See the North Dakota Pharmacy Services Map link for details). 

Approximately 40,000 rural citizens have had their pharmacy services restored, retained, or established through the North Dakota Telepharmacy Project since its inception.  The project has restored valuable access to health care in remote medically underserved areas of the state and has added approximately $12 million in economic development to the local rural economy including adding 40-50 new jobs. 

Licensed pharmacists provide traditional pharmacy services, including drug utilization review, prescription verification, and patient counseling to a remote site via telepharmacy technology. Retaining the active role of the pharmacist helps assure the delivery of safe, high quality pharmacy services that can be at risk when the pharmacist is left out as in the case of internet and mail-order pharmacies.

Telepharmacy sites in North Dakota are full service pharmacies that have complete drug inventories, including over-the-counter and prescription drugs as well as health and beauty aids and other general store merchandise.

For more information, contact: Ann Rathke, Telepharmacy Coordinator, College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences, North Dakota State University, 123 Sudro Hall, Fargo, North Dakota 58105; (701) 231-5863; Ann.Rathke@ndsu.edu

E-Mail:Ann.Rathke@ndsu.edu
Ann Rathke - Telepharmacy Coordinator
College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences
Sudro Hall 123
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105
Phone: (701) 231-5863