Hand Held Products and Pharmitas partner to enable compliance with the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act

There is a growing epidemic concerning over-the-counter medicines containing the ingredients ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine (PSE products), which are being used to produce the illegal drug methamphetamine.

The US Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 (CMEA) regulates the sale and purchase of select non-prescription PSE products, and requires retailers to log, track and report these PSE product transactions. Logbooks must be retained for two years.

Pharmitas, Inc. and Hand Held Products have partnered to offer solutions that enable retailers and pharmacists to comply with the CMEA by electronically capturing and managing PSE product transactions.

Many retailers are using paper-based logbooks to manually record consumers' information, purchase details and signatures. The Pharmitas Pharmacy Solution allows retailers to replace their paper-based logbooks with its electronic data capture and management system. The Solution is driven by proprietary software developed by Pharmitas that can be used with the Hand Held Products Image Kiosk(tm) 8570 or the Dolphin(R) 7900 Mobile Computer. 

"Through our partnership with Pharmitas, retailers can fully comply with the CMEA mandate while serving more consumers faster." said Garrison Gomez, Director, Mobility Systems Business Unit, Hand Held Products.

Using either the mini-kiosk or mobile computer, retailers scan the 2D barcode or swipe the magnetic stripe on the consumers' driver's license to auto-populate their information into the log. Retailers then scan the PSE product's UPC label, which automatically and instantly confirms if the consumer is within the legal purchase limit.

The consumer verifies the sale with an electronic signature, and the transaction information is sent and stored to a secure database and server.

"Hand Held Products' innovative technology and customer base will provide unprecedented access to the pharmacy channel for our software solutions," said Chris Parsons, President and Chief Executive Officer at Pharmitas, Inc.

Powered by Adaptus(R) Imaging Technology 5.0, the IK8570 and Dolphin 7900 enable fast, omni-directional scanning of 1D and 2D barcodes. Both have the option of an integrated magnetic stripe reader. The compact IK8570 is ideal for the point-of-sale. The Dolphin 7900 is compact, ergonomic and rugged, providing ease of use and reliability. 

About Hand Held Products

Hand Held Products is the world's leading manufacturer of image-based data collection solutions, such as barcode scanners and mobile computers.

Based in the US, its European headquarters are in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.