The objective of this white paper is to provide the hospital pharmacy director with a framework for assessing the current use and future needs of pharmacy technology. Writer will collaborate with leaders in the industry to provide a world-class white paper.  Outline is established and posted:

1. Background
 a. Definitions and scope of activity
 b. Purpose of primer
 c. History of TA
 i. Outside health care
 ii. Within health care
 iii. Within pharmacy
 iv. Tons of literature on process, importance, function, impact of HCTA

2. TA Process
 a. Technology surveillance
 b. Evaluative processes of TA
 i. Literature evaluation
 ii. Consensus development
 iii. Economic evaluation
 iv. Synthesis of evaluative process and environmental factors
 c. Technology management
 i. Implementation support
 ii. Post-hoc evaluation
 d. Provide systematic framework for evaluating health care technology, but do not limit focus to IT; checklists and examples are good, but don’t over-emphasize selection of IT platform or vendor

3. Scope of Evaluative Activity
 a. Medications
 i. Emphasize the fact that P&T Committees DO TA
 ii. Parallel evaluative process beyond medications
 b. Devices
 i. Med/surg supplies
 ii. Implantables
 iii. Disposables
 c. Procedures
 d. Diagnostics
 e. Systems of care
 i. IT addressed here, but not main emphasis of primer!

4. Role of Pharmacy in HCTA
 a. Professional attributes of pharmacists that make them ideal TA analysts
 i. Evidence-based evaluative skills
 ii. Consensus development skills
 iii. Financial analysis skills
 iv. System-based thinking
 v. Emphasis on culture of collaborative evaluation via P&T model
 b. Process to develop comfort with technology beyond medications
 c. Leadership role of pharmacy