Writing prescriptions for patients is a complicated endeavor these days. While some orders for medication and devices may be conveyed to pharmacies by telephone, federal regulations stipulate that controlled substance prescriptions be presented at pharmacies before they are dispensed. Stringent regulations issued recently by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to combat the estimated $5 billion in annual prescription fraud committed throughout the U.S. also come into play; these regulations call for secure prescriptions that cannot be copied, altered or counterfeited.

Bob Norman, director of IT at Mankato Clinic, had such challenges in mind as he shopped the aisles of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference & Exhibition three years ago. One of Minnesota’s largest physician-owned, multi-specialty regional group practices, Mankato Clinic operates eight sites in and around Mankato; its staff includes 80 physicians.

At the time of Norman’s visit to the HIMSS meeting, Mankato Clinic management had already decided to migrate from a manual (handwritten) prescription-issuance system to a printer-based one. “We thought it would be better all around in terms of compliance with all regulations, as well as to make the job a little easier for the doctors,” Norman said. Management had also concluded that using dedicated prescription printers, rather than all-purpose laser jet printers fitted with prescription-generating software, would be their best bet because the latter are more expensive and print prescriptions on 8 ½” X 11” paper instead of standard prescription form.

“We didn’t want to pay more for ‘all-purpose’ printers when all we were going to do was to generate prescriptions,” Norman explained. “We also needed very solid, secure dedicated units with a convenient small footprint, and that would even hang on a wall if we wanted them to.”

In perusing the HIMMS exhibits, Norman found exactly what he sought in Star Micronics’ TSP800Rx thermal printer. “It fit all our criteria,” he noted. In addition to being designed specifically for the medical industry, it offers durability, a small footprint, and a wall-mounting option.” Even more importantly, Norman said, the TSP800Rx is the only printer available for the medical industry to boast a locking mechanism that deters unauthorized removal of prescription media from the paper chamber.

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Star Micronics America Announces Printer Compatibility with Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Star Micronics America is proud to announce that its lines of single and multifunction printers are compatible with the latest Mac Operating System-Snow Leopard. Star is currently supporting customers who have upgraded their Mac operating systems.

“Star Micronics is one of the few printer companies to embrace the Mac community and has always played a pivotal role in the Mac POS market. Making sure we were ready to support customers for Snow Leopard, at its release time, is the most recent example of that role,” said David Salisbury, Product Manager of Star Micronics America. “Star Micronics is pleased to announce that the current version of the Mac CUPS drivers (3.0) are fully compatible with what will no doubt be a popular operating system.”

Star Micronics’ technical support department has already developed numerous application notes to assist users who are upgrading to Snow Leopard. The application notes discuss topics including:

• How to install a Star USB printer on Snow Leopard
• How to install a Star Ethernet printer on Snow Leopard
• How to install the Star TSP100/TSP100GT printers on Snow LeopardRequests for the application notes may be sent to [email protected].