News

Barksdale airbase eases pharmacy wait times with prescription pickup kiosks

October 26, 2018

Barksdale Air Force Base in northeastern Louisiana has installed Q-Flow kiosks at the base's main and satellite pharmacies. 

The kiosks are meant to help eliminate the need for patients to stand in line and wait for their prescriptions to be filled, according to a report by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.

According to the report, the kiosks were installed in consideration of some of the older patients served by the pharmacies. "[W]e see them get tired or pass out, and in a couple of worst case scenarios we've had to call 911," said Maj. John Wu, 2nd Medical Group pharmacy flight commander.

The base's two pharmacy facilities fill or refill up to 1,500 prescriptions daily, and the wait to pick up a prescription can be as long as two hours, the report said. 

The Q-Flow kiosks won't change the time required to fill a prescription, but will allow patients to submit their prescription and then return in a few hours to pick up their medication from the secure kiosk. 

Patient information can be entered at the kiosk rather than at the pharmacy window. Display screens in the pharmacy provide information about expected wait time for a prescription. When the prescription is ready, the kiosk automatically sends an SMS text notifying the patient that their medication is ready for pickup.