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Prescription vending machines debut on Chicago’s South Side to boost access

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September 29, 2025

Advocate Health Care has installed prescription vending machines at several facilities on Chicago's South Side in an effort to improve medication access and reduce health disparities, according to a Fox 32 report.

The machines, now operating at Advocate Trinity Hospital and the Advocate Medical Group outpatient clinic at Imani Village, dispense medications for immediate needs such as flu, bacterial infections and asthma, as well as chronic conditions including heart disease and high blood pressure. Another machine will open later this year at Advocate South Suburban Hospital.

"Introducing these prescription vending machines will help expand access to important medications and take steps towards addressing the pharmacy desert plaguing our community," Michelle Y. Blakely, president of Advocate Trinity and South Suburban hospitals, told the news outlet.

Advocate officials said the technology allows clinicians to send prescriptions directly to the machines so patients can pick them up immediately after appointments or hospital visits.

The initiative comes as state and federal data show life expectancy on parts of Chicago's South and West sides lags more than a decade behind wealthier areas of the city.