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DURHAM, N.C. — Parata Systems held its first Innovation Summit, a two-day event where industry leaders and professionals exchanged ideas about the role of pharmacists in today’s changing health care system.
The pharmacy automation technology provider said Wednesday that participants were able to spend time with Parata executives and engineers to gain more insight into company innovations and its product pipeline.
"We thought the timing was right for this type of Innovation Summit. Over the past 12 years, Parata’s leadership role has steadily grown within the pharmacy industry, which enabled us to bring together some of the most influential thought leaders in the health care ecosystem," stated Tom Rhoads, chief executive officer of Parata Systems. "Our goal was to create an environment where parties with sometimes differing views could freely and openly exchange ideas, with the focus on improving outcomes and lowering health care costs for everyone involved, but especially for patients."
Participating pharmacies included Appro-Rx/Waynesville Pharmacy, Beverly Hills Pharmacy, DDP Pharmacy, Foster’s Pharmacy, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Moose Pharmacy, Rx Advantage, Tyson Drug Co. and UNC Hospitals.
"The Parata Innovation Summit connected me with all the players in health care — pharmacy, technology, payors, PBMs, health systems and ACOs — and helped me visualize where they brought value to health care as a whole. Knowing this helped me see where pharmacy’s value points are and how we can maximize that value," commented Joe Moose, owner of Moose Pharmacy.
He added, "I loved the interactive format as well. It provided a better understanding of how we could all work together to help each other and ultimately deliver better care at a better price."
Other summit participants included representatives from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC, Biologics Inc., Bright.md, Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC), Diversified Information Technologies (DIT), HAP Investment Group, Mavesi, NTT Data, Prime Therapeutics, Sanger Health & Vascular Institute and Telepharm.
"The Innovation Summit brought together a diverse set of stakeholders to discuss many of the emerging opportunities — and threats — for community-based pharmacy practice," stated Troy Trygstad, vice president of pharmacy programs with Community Care of North Carolina. "It was helpful to hear the latest lines of thinking and to openly exchange ideas."
