Prescription machine to dispense meds at Commissary
By James L. Mangan IV | Munson Army Health Center
Published: Thursday, June 25, 2009 10:33 AM CDT
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Munson Army Health Center will soon offer a new, state-of-the-art, automated dispensing system designed to be more convenient and accessible to patients: the Automated Prescription Machine.
The APM is a stand-alone unit capable of dispensing refill prescriptions processed at the MAHC Pharmacy. The machine will be located inside the Commissary and can be used by patients during Commissary business hours.
The process is simple; just call the pharmacy refill line at 684-6500 and choose the option for the APM. The pharmacy staff will then fill the prescription and load it into the APM. For patients to use the APM, they must register at the MAHC pharmacy refill window.
Certain limitations apply. Bulky items like boxes of syringes and sharps containers will not fit in the machine and therefore will not be loaded. Also, controlled substances, liquid and refrigerated items will not be loaded into the machine and must be picked up directly from the pharmacy refill window.
Patients receive a pharmacy-generated personal identification number or create their own. A single PIN can be used for all members of a family, but each family member will be loaded into the system separately.
After a refill is called in to 684-6500, the prescription is filled, bagged and bar-coded by pharmacy staff. Patients should call in refills two to five days before running out of medication. Refills called in are ready for pick-up two duty days after being phoned in.
At the APM, the patient enters family member prefix and sponsor's Social Security number, PIN, confirms items for pick-up, sign, and retrieves prescription from the machine.
There will be a dedicated phone attached to the APM that rings directly to the pharmacy if there are any questions or concerns.
For more information visit or call MAHC Pharmacy at 684-6700.
Editor's note: James L. Mangan IV is the lead pharmacy technician at Munson Army Health Center.
