NSMC’s Pharmacy Robot Doesn’t Take a Day Off

October is a busy month around the North Sunflower Medical Center Pharmacy. Last week was National Pharmacy Week, so we asked Dr. Tracy Portner at NSMC Pharmacy how they were celebrating.

Turns out, they don’t have much time to do any celebrating. “We are a full-service pharmacy that focuses on patients. We try to get them in and out of here as quickly as possible,” Dr. Portner told us. “We recognize they frequently have been in the clinic for a while, or they aren’t feeling well. Sometimes they have a long way to drive home, so getting them the prescriptions they need right away is a big-time priority for us.”

To help make this happen, the North Sunflower Medical Center Pharmacy is a High Tech operation. When the pharmacy opened, they invested in a Prescription Robot, pre-programmed to fill the 200 most filled prescriptions. This cuts down significantly on the old-time method of counting out pills one at a time.

What’s the robot’s name??? Phil.

Phil the Robot

Dr. Portner told us, “Phil takes a photograph of the inside of the vial to ensure the count, weight, and dosage are all correct. If the patient has any questions, we can go back and see exactly what happened. If it is a different color, we can tell if it’s a new generic or something different that we can explain.”

Not only does Phil, the prescription filling robot, fill prescriptions safely and quickly, he also works nights and weekends. Patients can call into the pharmacy after hours (open weekdays 8 am to 8 pm, Sat 8 to 6, and Sun 9 to 6). Through a series of prompts, they can order refills that will be waiting for them in the morning.

North Sunflower Medical Center Pharmacy’s Network

But it’s not just waiting-times and high-tech robots that are keeping Dr. Portner busy. The NSMC Pharmacy is part of the community Pharmacy Enhanced Network. This program works to ensure that our patients are in adherence with all their prescriptions. That means all our patients are taking their medications as they have been prescribed.

“When a doctor or nurse practitioner prescribes a medicine, everything is based on the patient taking the medication exactly as it is prescribed. When a patient gets off schedule, that throws everything off,” Dr. Portner said.

“Because we are right here next to the Sunflower Rural Health Clinic, we are completely connected to their physician. We get a print out if we see a patient that is off schedule on their medication, so we can see if they are out, if they need a refill or if there are some other issues that we can help to get them to get back on schedule with their medication.”

Dr. Portner said she is proud of the investments North Sunflower Medical Center has made, not just in the technology for the pharmacy, but also the investment in her time to follow up with patients and ensure they are getting the best care available.

So as we said, things are a little too busy to slow down for National Pharmacy Week. And did we mention, they also deliver?