ATM Machine for Dispensing Rx Meds

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I don't see state boards of pharmacy allowing that to happen.

I can see it.

If there is a video of a pharmacist waiting to answer questions on the screen I see absolutely NO difference compared to a drive through.
 
Can somebody please make this already? I really want to see this on a national scale. Epic fail patiently waiting. Geez, I wonder what can possibly go wrong....but hey it only takes a few minutes right?
 
Can somebody please make this already? I really want to see this on a national scale. Epic fail patiently waiting. Geez, I wonder what can possibly go wrong....but hey it only takes a few minutes right?

Good idea... What happens when someone realizes tha value of the meds contained within the machine. How long before someone jacks the machine a la the guys in Atlanta that just took a backhoe to an ATM and stole the whole thing? 😕
 
soooo....who do you think checks the prescription and verifies the stock in the machine?
 
Machines. And machines check those machines. It's all machines, as far back as you can go!
Judgement day will come for us pharmers and instead of Skynet, it will be Walgreen's Storenet automating machines to do away with us. Maybe we can get Mikey to be our John Connor and lead the revolution 👍
 
Good idea... What happens when someone realizes tha value of the meds contained within the machine. How long before someone jacks the machine a la the guys in Atlanta that just took a backhoe to an ATM and stole the whole thing? 😕

Those ATMS are located in doctors offices.
 
no they're in hospitals and they're called Pyxis machines

I have heard of these; have yet to see one though. Still dont think its a very good idea unless it is pretty basic scripts. Somebody, sometime, somewhere is going to screw this one up big time.
 
I have heard of these; have yet to see one though. Still dont think its a very good idea unless it is pretty basic scripts. Somebody, sometime, somewhere is going to screw this one up big time.

pyxis/medstations are standard at most hospitals, you're thinking outpatient now.

I don't see the difference between handing over a script to a technician in person vs. scanning it and having the adjudication and review done remotely. There's script/clinical review on the front end and then ultimate product review on the back end when it's dispensed, except that product review is done ahead of time when any such machine is filled with product and then verified.

If it's not stocked in the machine, a single tech in a larger pharmacy can probably fill product and then have it remotely verified by camera. This is already being done on a very limited basis in hospitals that lack overnight coverage but need something sent up that's not stocked in a machine.

Obviously laws need to be changed, but I can see a set up where a retail pharmacy can go overnight with a single technician on-site and a remote pharmacist verifying scripts then releasing them to a dispensing machine, similar to a hospital.
 
pyxis/medstations are standard at most hospitals, you're thinking outpatient now.

Correct. I should have quantified my statement. Inpatient and controlled access by only staff would be an entirely different situation. Although, remote verification could open up a whole new set of problems, frauds, etc.
 
Speaking of pyxis machines, behold the Overlord!

Pyxis-Machine-Large.jpg


If I had one of these in my apartment, imagine all the beer and other beverages I could stock it with...

The smaller pockets could hold tea bags and keurig K-cups
 
Speaking of pyxis machines, behold the Overlord!

Too much space for cabinets, not enough for drawers. I prefer drawers, less chance for the nurse to grab the wrong thing or put something back in the wrong place. Cabinets can be a nightmare.
 
The annoying thing about the cabinets, particularly with large volume fluids, is that the nurses grab more than one at a time and the count is off. They will pull multiple bags on a patient but use some for other patients. They claim it is because of time. I just don't believe safety should be compromised like that. We finally had to put some blind counts on things...

As for the pharmacy "ATM", it seems more efficient for the consumer barring major insurance problems. I don't think it is a good idea though. I think there would be a lot of missed opportunities for patient education (among other things). I mean, what about the patients that just want a consult? "I have a fever and this and this, what can I take?", "My meds make me feel this way, what should I do?" "I have this rash? What is it and what can I put on it?" "My son has diarrhea, what should I do?", "I have been feeling bad lately and my sugars have been high. I don't know what's wrong", "I keep getting bloody noses but my coumadin dose has been the same, what do I do?", "I can't get into the doctor tonight and can't afford urgent care, what should I take for my upset stomach/earache/cough/etc. until morning?". Would we still be the most accessible health care professional? How many patients would be walking by and want to talk on a phone to someone? It just seems so impersonal and I don't think health care should be that way if it doesn't have to be (I recognize the need for telemedicine in some situations like rural settings...).
 
pyxis/medstations are standard at most hospitals, you're thinking outpatient now.

I don't see the difference between handing over a script to a technician in person vs. scanning it and having the adjudication and review done remotely. There's script/clinical review on the front end and then ultimate product review on the back end when it's dispensed, except that product review is done ahead of time when any such machine is filled with product and then verified.

If it's not stocked in the machine, a single tech in a larger pharmacy can probably fill product and then have it remotely verified by camera. This is already being done on a very limited basis in hospitals that lack overnight coverage but need something sent up that's not stocked in a machine.

Obviously laws need to be changed, but I can see a set up where a retail pharmacy can go overnight with a single technician on-site and a remote pharmacist verifying scripts then releasing them to a dispensing machine, similar to a hospital.

Narcotics and controls could be a problem in the retail setting with no chain between tech and patient (like nurses in a hospital). Unfortunately I guess the laws can be changed any which way to make this work as has happened time and time again (ex: why any state has allowed remote fill in the recent past w/ no true shortage). I guess those remote pharmacies in N. Dakota manage that somehow though with just a tech on site?
 
Look..... in the long run I'm SURE these machines won't affect us at all! I mean did netflix (mail order) and redbox (the machine) really do that much damage to blockbuster, hollywood video, and every other brick and mortar pharmacy...err I mean video store. Of course not- I go and rent videos all the time. 🙄
 
Look..... in the long run I'm SURE these machines won't affect us at all! I mean did netflix (mail order) and redbox (the machine) really do that much damage to blockbuster, hollywood video, and every other brick and mortar pharmacy...err I mean video store. Of course not- I go and rent videos all the time. 🙄


🙄
 
Look..... in the long run I'm SURE these machines won't affect us at all! I mean did netflix (mail order) and redbox (the machine) really do that much damage to blockbuster, hollywood video, and every other brick and mortar pharmacy...err I mean video store. Of course not- I go and rent videos all the time. 🙄

That's why pharmacists need to provide cognitive services as often as possible. No one went to Blockbuster to ask what kind of movie was the best for them.
 
Look..... in the long run I'm SURE these machines won't affect us at all! I mean did netflix (mail order) and redbox (the machine) really do that much damage to blockbuster, hollywood video, and every other brick and mortar pharmacy...err I mean video store. Of course not- I go and rent videos all the time. 🙄

Yep, because redbox and netflix have perfected the way machines deal with insurance rejects, read crappy writing, know when to verify an Rx with the physicians office, support all physician E-rx systems, knowledgable about why a particular customer is angry, and during DUR can even pick out which interactions are clinically important.

Of course they'll affect us, but this effect is very limited. We're not McD's. We're not blockbuster. What can possibly go wrong when you order a big mac...or when you rent a movie? There are literally hundreds, yes hundreds, of things that can go wrong with a particular script.

But then again, you have an emoticon (or whatever they're called) at the end of your post, so maybe you're being sarcastic.
 
For some reason that line cracked me up.

Well, you know most sodas started out as elixirs. Coke is obvious but how about 7up containing lithium? Maybe they are just harkening back to the early 20th Century with these machine?
 
The annoying thing about the cabinets, particularly with large volume fluids, is that the nurses grab more than one at a time and the count is off. They will pull multiple bags on a patient but use some for other patients. They claim it is because of time. I just don't believe safety should be compromised like that. We finally had to put some blind counts on things...

As for the pharmacy "ATM", it seems more efficient for the consumer barring major insurance problems. I don't think it is a good idea though. I think there would be a lot of missed opportunities for patient education (among other things). I mean, what about the patients that just want a consult? "I have a fever and this and this, what can I take?", "My meds make me feel this way, what should I do?" "I have this rash? What is it and what can I put on it?" "My son has diarrhea, what should I do?", "I have been feeling bad lately and my sugars have been high. I don't know what's wrong", "I keep getting bloody noses but my coumadin dose has been the same, what do I do?", "I can't get into the doctor tonight and can't afford urgent care, what should I take for my upset stomach/earache/cough/etc. until morning?". Would we still be the most accessible health care professional? How many patients would be walking by and want to talk on a phone to someone? It just seems so impersonal and I don't think health care should be that way if it doesn't have to be (I recognize the need for telemedicine in some situations like rural settings...).

Would it be more cost-effective sticking an NP in there? I can see it now...remote verification pharmacy manned by 1-2 techs and the in-house clinic with an NP answering questions with prescriptive powers.

Conflict of interest issues aside, this could be an interesting thing to pursue if you're really gunning for cost control.

But at the rate we're going, with the glut of pharmacists entering the workforce, implementing the technology and lobbying for state laws to change might not even be worth it.
 
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