Photo By Douglas Stutz | They’re behind the scenes, but not behind the times. National Pharmacist Day,...... read more read more
They’re behind the scenes, but not behind the times.
National Pharmacist Day, January 12, 2023, provides an annual date to recognize that the pharmacists assigned to Naval Hospital Bremerton are at the forefront in combining high tech convenience with patient-centered care.
Those days of an apothecary using an abacus to prepare and dispense medicine are long gone. NHB pharmacists - such as Lt. Cmdr. Evan Romrell, Lt. Cmdr. Jason Galka, and Isabella “Bella” Wolak – are a crucial link in providing health care support to those in need.
They are intricately involved in offering advice about prescription dosage, usage and efficacy. They collaborate and counsel with physicians, nurses and health care teams as well as patients on the proper and safe use of medications.
From text messaging to the Q-Anywhere option to ScriptCenter pickup centers, all NHB Pharmacy upgrades are designed to provide safe, secure and timely prescriptions for all eligible beneficiaries.
Yet none of the improvements take place without the pharmacists making it happen. Which is no small task due to the sheer amount of medications provided on a daily basis.
“Our volume is the same [approximately 330,000 outpatient prescriptions filled in 2021] but staffing is a challenge. We’re down several pharmacists and six or seven pharmacy technicians. But our staff are amazing,” said Romrell, who deflected attention from themselves to attention on what they provide NHB’s patients.
“We’ve streamlined with a few innovations to limit waiting in the lobby and the changes we’ve made benefit our staff and our patients,” Romrell said.
To sign up for the text messaging service, patients can simply add their phone number when they check in at one of the Outpatient Pharmacy’s kiosks.
“Additionally, pharmacy staff can update their profile at the window,” said Romrell.
According to Romrell, signing up for texts allows patients to get the latest information about their prescriptions, such as ready notifications or messages about a delay due to a medication being out of stock.
“Or if they use Q-anywhere, their phone number is automatically saved. By using the Q-Anywhere feature it allows them to pre-activate their prescriptions from ‘anywhere.’ Then they can just come to pick them up when they are ready, greatly reducing the time spent waiting in the pharmacy,” Romrell said, urging those who want to skip the pharmacy wait, to sign up for their Q-anywhere Phast Pass Prescription Service: https://bremerton.tricare.mil/Portals/111/NH%20Bremerton%20Pharmacy%20QR%20Code%20Phast%20Pass.pdf
The ScriptCenter is a self-serve dispensing service available for all customers who need after hours services. Or just choose not to wait in the lobby.
ScriptCenter is easy to use. The process starts when ordering prescriptions through AudioCare at 360-475-4217, then select the ScriptCenter kiosk option at several pickup location.
When requesting for the first time, registration is required so a patient needs to bring the 12-digit prescription number (starting with 000) found on the medication bottle. For those who don’t have a prescription number, it is still possible to establish a username and PIN to access the ScriptCenter. Pharmacy staff can help complete the registration when the prescription is filled.
Romrell also hinted that there’s more advances pending, all designed to make it easier for their patients to pick up their prescriptions.
“If anyone has any problem, let us know and we’ll help work through it,” stated Romrell.
Even on National Pharmacy Day.
| Date Taken: | 01.11.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 01.11.2023 22:44 |
| Story ID: | 436633 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 271 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, Pharmacists Indispensable in Dispensing Patient-Centered Care, by Douglas Stutz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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