Changes afoot for Vance pharmacy

  • Published
  • By Capt. Tony Wickman
  • Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Customers using the 71st Medical Group clinic's pharmacy are seeing new changes to the way business is done, and there are more changes on the horizon.

How prescriptions are accepted and refilled, as well as where to get pharmacy information, are changes for patient safety and customer service.

According to Captain Ellen Roska, Diagnostics and Therapeutics flight commander, the changes are needed and necessary.

"The changes we are making are for patient safety. That is the most important thing to us," Captain Roska said. "We want to do things in a timely manner, but we want patients to have the safest experience. It may seem inconvenient, but we must ensure we do things that protect patient safety."

One of the changes is that the pharmacy is no longer accepting faxed prescription orders.

"Many prescriptions we received could not be read, so we didn't know who it was for or what it was for. It generated situations where patient safety could be compromised," the captain said.

Additionally, called-in refills are changing from next day service to two days because of manpower shortages.

"We needed the extra time, so we added a day so patients would know when the prescriptions would be ready for pick-up," she said. "We don't want patients showing up and waiting because we don't have their prescriptions ready."

The pharmacy is also asking customers not to do walk-in requests for prescription refills.

"Our workflow is set up for patients receiving new prescriptions. Patients that are here awaiting a new prescription will be the priority, and we will get them going as soon as possible. Walk-in refills interrupt that flow and makes patients wait longer. If we have our customers call in their prescriptions, we can plan for them and minimize wait times," the captain said.

A new procedure being implemented is an Air Force-wide initiative that requires patients to check in after seeing a provider.

"First, for safety we need to verify allergy information. Second, we ensure that all of the medications are entered. If the patient is expecting three medications, we make sure they are all entered," the captain said. "Third, and most important, while the patient is at the window we can talk with the person about potential drug interactions and anything that can be concerning. We can get more information and counsel them about potential problems with any new medications."

Also, Captain Roska said the pharmacy needs to verify a patient's third-party collection card because the Air Force wants to verify if a patient has any additional insurance.

Recently, the pharmacy placed their formulary onto the base's public Web site at www.vance.af.mil/communityaffairs.asp to help patients who see physicians off base but get their prescriptions refilled on base.

"The public web formulary allows patients to download the form, print it and take it to their civilian providers. This will allow the civilian provider to write prescriptions that are available at Vance," Captain Roska said. "It takes the guess work out of whether or not Vance carries the medication. Also, one of the most recent drugs we added is Norvasc, or amlodipine, to the basic core formulary."

As for requirements to pick up medications for a family member, the pharmacy must enforce the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 that addresses security and privacy of health data by requiring a patient's representative have consent before releasing medical information to them.

"HIPAA rules state we cannot give prescriptions to anyone, including spouses, without the patient's consent. We request that a representative have a black and white copy of the patient's identification or the actual ID card when they come to pick up prescriptions," she said. "This is a privacy issue and we need to make sure we protect the patient," Captain Roska said.

Lt. Col. Mark Batcho,  71st Medical Support Squadron commander, echoed the statements by Captain Roska concerning the changes.

"Our Vance Clinic team continuously strives to provide world-class customer service for our beneficiaries. Our pharmacy in particularly has the added responsibility of compliance with state, federal and DoD requirements," the commander said. "These recent changes in both laws and staffing will slow our prescription fill rates, but it's absolutely required to maintain our patient's safety,"

Procedures are not the only thing changing; the pharmacy itself will begin renovations in the May timeframe, necessitating a temporary move to a new location within the clinic.

"We will relocate to another area in the clinic when the construction begins and we will be at the new location for about four months," Captain Roska said. "The good news is that the medical group leadership recently approved a plan that will allow us to dispense, on a temporary basis, up to six months of routine prescriptions, which will cut down on the inconvenience of folks dealing with the renovations."