Several hospitals recently announced innovative partnerships, programs or technology to improve pharmacy operations.
Here are four:
- SwedishAmerican (Rockford, Ill.) This hospital opened the first self-serve pharmacy in the Northern Illinois region, called the ScriptCenter. The kiosk is available for patients 24/7 and allows patients to pick up their prescriptions when it's convenient for them.
- Halifax Health (Daytona Beach, Fla.) This Florida health system partnered with grocery store chain Publix to build a Publix pharmacy in its Halifax Health Medical Center to make prescriptions easily accessible for patients.
- Northern Maine (Fort Kent) Medical Center. This Maine hospital is adding a meds-to-beds program to deliver prescriptions to patients before they are discharged. Patients who have trouble affording their medications are provided a financial counselor. Pharmacists are also available to help patients find affordable medications.
- NYC Health + Hospitals. This New York City health system expanded the role of its clinical pharmacists to include helping patients manage their hypertension medications, streamlining the care process.