Managing Malmstrom's medicinal needs

  • Published
  • By Airman Emerald Ralston
  • 341st Space Wing Public Affairs Office
Two pharmacists, five pharmacy technicians and eleven volunteers compose Malmstrom's pharmacy staff - the people responsible for providing safe, accurate and timely service for the individuals receiving the hundreds of prescriptions the pharmacy fills each day. 

After seeing a health care provider, patients come to the pharmacy to pick up their medications. Patients fill out a slip of paper with their name, PRP status, doctor's name and the last four numbers of their social security number, for verification purposes, to turn in to a pharmacy technician. If the patient is under 12, weight is also filled out for safety reasons to ensure proper dosage is administered for the child. 

The pharmacy staff then checks prescription for accuracy, quantity, directions, allergy risks and interactions with other medications. 

"Once everything is verified and accurate, the prescription is filled, checked and sent out to the patient the window," said Maj. John Barnett, pharmacist. 

"We fill about 600 prescriptions a day," Major Barnett said. "The wait time is almost always less than 10 minutes." 

The pharmacy opens at 7:30 a.m. during the weekdays. Mornings are the slowest, and therefore a good time to come in, Major Barnett said. The busiest times are at lunchtime and again around 3 p.m., he said. The pharmacy is open until 5 p.m. 

As far as getting prescriptions refilled, the pharmacy staff recommends calling in prescriptions at 731-2894 to save time. 

"If they call in the prescription, it saves the patient time and makes it easier for the staff here because the refill will be ready the night before, or that morning," the pharmacist said. "Calling in refills is not mandatory, but usually saves the patient at least 20 minutes because they avoid having to wait in line with those who are getting prescriptions filled." 

Something to keep in mind is that co-pays are charged for family members and retirees that go downtown to get their prescriptions filled, Major Barnett said. 

Prescriptions fall into a tier system, depending on the type of medication. Tier one and two prescriptions have a $3 co-pay for a month's worth of generic medications and a $9 co-pay for name brand medications. Tier three prescriptions require a $22 co-pay. 

"This is why we encourage family members and retirees to use the mail-order pharmacy instead of going downtown," Major Barnett said. "With the mail-order program, medications are delivered to the patient's house and they pay one third of the price they'd pay downtown." 

People can get three month's worth of medications for the $3 or $9 co-pays when using the mail-order program instead of only getting a one month supply for the same price. Forms for the mail-order pharmacy are available at the pharmacy or at the TRICARE Web site at http://www.tricare.osd.mil/pharmacy/tmop.cfm. 

Along with their responsibilities at the pharmacy, they also provide medications for all the other clinics, said Capt. Fernando Santana, pharmacist. 

"We stock all the clinics like pediatrics, family practice, dental, etc." said Captain Santana. "We also conduct classes at the Health and Wellness Center on diabetes and cholesterol control." 

A lot of work goes into maintaining a highly efficient pharmacy from checking, double checking, and looking out for accuracy and the safety of each patient while filling each prescription. 

"The patient and their safety is our first and foremost objective here at the pharmacy, and that's what makes us one of the best pharmacies in the Air Force," Maj. Barnett said.