MCAS NEW RIVER, NC –
Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune’s Pharmacy Department will soon have an additional option for beneficiaries to obtain their prescriptions. On May 12, 2021, the Marine Corps Air Station New River Marine Corps Exchange will become the location for an Asteres ScriptCenter automated kiosks and locker system. This new kiosk system is the first of its kind to be used by NMCCL.
According to NMCCL’s Outpatient Pharmacy Division Officer, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Courtney Corcoran, the kiosk provides additional flexibility.
“Specifically with COVID-19 [restrictions], we have had to limit the amount of people in our waiting areas, so this gives them the convenience of having their prescriptions readily available [shorter lines and wait times] and not being limited to our regular pharmacy hours,” states Corcoran. “This option is even great for holidays, or weekends and just gives them much more flexibility. As long as the exchange is open, the kiosk will be available…so this extends our services into the evenings and will be extremely helpful for people who work during our regular pharmacy hours.”
Prescriptions are filled at the Main Pharmacy and then transported and securely loaded into the kiosk to await pickup by the beneficiary. The refill will stay in the locker for 10 business days, so the beneficiary has ample time to pick up the prescription. Similar to an ATM, the kiosk is designed to dispense the prescriptions after the user inputs authentication information.
“This [the kiosk] is more for refills specifically. For new prescriptions, you will still need to go to the Main Pharmacy,” explains Corcoran. “This is no different than getting the prescription sent through the drive-thru or [Camp Lejeune] Main Exchange pharmacy, except the kiosk cannot store or dispense refrigerated medications, nor medications requiring mixing, such as children’s liquid antibiotics. Those prescription types can be picked up at the clinic pharmacies.”
In addition to more flexible hours, the kiosk provides other advantages for NMCCL.
“Patient safety and care is our number one priority in the outpatient pharmacy,” said Ginger Mathis, NMCCL Outpatient Pharmacy Supervisor. “We are always looking for solutions to protect patients and staff from COVID-19 exposure. So patients coming to the pharmacy to pick up refills will no longer be exposed to not only COVID, but strep, flu and other contagious infections.”
For initial use of the kiosk, beneficiaries will call the Pharmacy Automated Refill line at 1-866-207-1028 and select Option 6 for the New River Exchange. Once at the ScriptCenter kiosk, a user will follow on-screen prompts for registration/enrollment, and then the medication will be dispensed. A presciption refill number, which can be found on the medication container, will be required for initial registration, however not needed for subsequent pick-ups once the registration is complete.
“Stay on top of your refills,” advises Corcoran. “Please give us ample time to fill the prescription as we can’t always fill it quickly. Pharmacy staff will be filling the kiosk and the turn-around time will continue to be 72 hours, or three business days.”
Once fully operational, the hours for the ScriptCenter availability will be the same as the MCAS New River Exchange. Located at Building AS-4040, Curtis Road, MCAS New River, the Exchange is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. They are open on some federal holidays.