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For Immediate Release | For more information, contact: |
Owatonna Hospital offers instant medication machine starting December 1OWATONNA, Minn. 11/27/2007--It's early Saturday evening. Your daughter hasn't been feeling well all day and suddenly, she says she has a terrible ear ache. You take her to the emergency department and the doctor determines she has an ear infection. He prescribes an antibiotic. Unfortunately, the local pharmacies are closed.
Dr. Jerry Jacobson, Owatonna Hospital pharmacist, and Carol Daley, pharmacist with Owatonna Pharmacy Care-Allina Community Pharmacies, check out the new InstyMeds Dispenser in the hospital’s Emergency Department Guest Lounge. Wouldn't it be nice if you could get that prescription filled closer to home? Beginning December 1, patients seen at Owatonna Hospital are able to get their emergency prescriptions filled any time of the day or night. Owatonna Hospital is partnering with InstyMeds, an electronic retail pharmacy where patients can purchase basic, acute-care drugs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The instant medication machine looks similar to a vending machine and is located in to the Emergency Department waiting room. The InstyMeds Dispenser works similar to how patients have a prescription filled at a retail pharmacy—they need to bring their prescription benefits card, as well as a credit card, debit card or cash for the co-payment. "The machine is intended for immediate needs and is not meant to replace the servic es of the local pharmacies," said Dr. Jerry Jacobson, Owatonna Hospital pharmacist. "We’re providing another option to people, particularly for patients that we serve after hours, so they don’t have to travel for the most commonly prescribed medications." The machine is stocked with 40 to 60 of the most common prescriptions produced by acute care visits. Physicians in the Owatonna Hospital Emergency Department will order prescriptions electronically, which are sent to the InstyMeds machine. The patient is given an access code to order the prescription from InstyMeds InstyMeds verifies insurance coverage for patients and accommodates self-paying customers. Cash, credit or debit cards are accepted. Patient support is available through a licensed pharmacist 24 hours a day via a telephone mounted on the front of the machine. "Patients will have their correct medication within three to five minutes, and it will have been verified three times to ensure they are receiving the right medication and dosage," said Jacobson. "This new service keeps patients close to home without having to travel to a 24-hour pharmacy."
About Owatonna HospitalThe new Owatonna Hospital will be connected to the current Owatonna Clinic-Mayo Health System 26th Street location, off Interstate 35, creating a health care campus. The facility will be designed to create an environment for providing high quality, safe, patient-centered care for residents in the region. Owatonna Hospital and Allina Hospitals & Clinics are taking a leadership role to promote healthy eating and physical activity through their heart healthy living and obesity initiatives with an emphasis on childhood obesity. Over the next five years, Allina and Owatonna Hospital will be working with community organizations to improve nutrition and increase physical activity to decrease obesity and improve heart health. # # # Related LinksOwatonna Hospital Pharmaceutical Care
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