Want to measure blood pressure, weight, height, BMI, temperature and blood oxygen? This one device can do it all

Canadians visiting certain Rexall or IDA Guardian pharmacies across the country can use the same medical device, and McKesson is ramping up sales to other pharmacy banners and national accounts from coast to coast Launched in late 2021 by McKesson Canada, HealthAssist is a Health Canada-certified Class II medical device that measures these six basic health indicators. The compact device occupies around the same floor space as an armchair and gathers data without having to pull a pharmacy team member away from other tasks. In some cases, HealthAssist might even alert pharmacists to serious health problems, such as hypertension, patients aren't aware they have, Denison noted, ideal for patients without a family doctor and who, as a consequence, don’t get regular health checkups. “We believe HealthAssist will play a significant role in helping pharmacists obtain important clinical data at point of care,” Steve Dennison, McKesson’s vice president and general manager of automation, told Pharmacy Practice + Business. “Based on this information, pharmacists can sit down with a patient and talk to them about what they can do to improve their health or they can convey that data to the patient’s family doctor or other healthcare provider.” Many consumers are familiar with the blood pressure machines found in numerous pharmacies across the country. Like these machines, HealthAssist features a cuff where patients can slip in their left arm as well as a bench where they can sit while their blood pressure is measured. Read: Innovator profile: Keeping seniors safe But that’s just the start. While staying seated, patients can get weighed by resting their feet on a metal bar under the bench. They can also get a read on their body temperature by grabbing two handles on either side of the console in front of them, leaning over and putting their forehead close to a sensor about the size of a chocolate chip. To get their blood oxygen saturation level, patients slip a finger in a small slot on the console. For height measurement, they stand up and let an overhead sensor do the work. Using height and weight measurements as well as the patient’s age—which the patient would have been prompted to enter—HealthAssist calculates body mass index. “We’re hearing from our customers that HealthAssist is very popular with their patients, and it keeps them coming back to their pharmacy,” said Dennison. Read: Target marketing and your pharmacy, Part 2 Depending on their scope of practice, pharmacists could use the info the device gathers as an aid in consulting, prescribing or medication management. “Tracking of health metrics can, in the near future, be done through through pharmacy patient records,” said Dennison. “In fact, we have developed connectivity with our own pharmacy information system and our own banner pharmacies.” A built-in display screen also provides opportunities to market in-store products and services, or to create a new revenue stream by using the screen as an advertising platform for third-party brands or retailers, such as those who operate in the same plaza or neighbourhood. Dennison said HealthAssist is currently offered at variable pricing depending on a number of factors such as quantity purchased and if the pharmacy has other McKesson technology. Read: On a mission: How FGC is advancing automated recommendations to improve patient care and pharmacy revenue

Want to measure blood pressure, weight, height, BMI, temperature and blood oxygen? This one device can do it all

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