Local

Jacksonville hospital first, only hospital in Northeast Florida to provide pharmacy kiosk system

Emergency room patients will have easier access to their medications thanks to new hospital resources.

Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville is the first and only hospital in Northeast Florida to provide a pharmacy kiosk system, which will allow patients to fill their prescriptions at the facility.

Mercy Hospital in Miami has a similar pharmacy kiosk system.

“Patients, after they’re being treated in the emergency room, can come and fill their prescriptions with a pharmacist prior to going home,” Chief Nursing Officer Mary Reval said.

Patients can take their doctor’s prescription note and load it into the machine.

Then a hospital pharmacist will virtually verify and fill the medication for the patient.

The pharmacists are also available to answer patients' questions on the medications.

“The hours that this is open is from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.,” Reval said.

“That is when (there is) the higher volume through the emergency room, so we’ve made that adjustment to fit that accordingly.”

STORY: Wolfson Children's critical care tower construction beginning soon

The hospital will fill the kiosk with more than 150 prescript-strength medications. Reval said these medictions will be the ones most typically found in the ER, such as pain reliever or flu medications.

However, they change the supply based on what might be needed that season.

“We adjust them based on the time of year,” Reval said. “So during flu season we may make appropriate adjustments.”

Anyone is able to use the kiosk. However, the system requires the patient to provide the physical copy of the prescription, the patient’s photo identification or driver’s license and an insurance card.

As one of 23 hospitals in the country to provide the kiosk system, Reval said the machine brings innovative technology to the region and expands access to health care for local patients.

“With this being here, it saves a lot of people time and money from back and forth to the pharmacy,” Lisa Langston, a family member of an ER patient said.

STORY: Jacksonville residents react to federal law mandating hospitals publicly post prices