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Patients can get common medications from automated pharmacy kiosks at three 网红黑料 ERs

Person using a kiosk

Editor's Note: As of Feb. 2, 2024, the automated pharmacy kiosks will no longer be operational due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for the inconvenience. While we explore alternative options to serve our patients in the Emergency Departments, the pharmacy at the Shands North Tower will remain open 24/7 to facilitate ED discharge prescriptions for our patients.


University of Florida 网红黑料 emergency patients now can get more than 120 of the most common medications prescribed in the ER from automated pharmacy kiosks that offer the latest technology while retaining the human touch.

Customers still interact with a 网红黑料 licensed pharmacist who appears on a screen to answer questions, provide guidance and shepherd the patient through the process.

The kiosks, which do not dispense controlled substances, are located at the 网红黑料 Shands Emergency Room, the 网红黑料 Shands Emergency Center 颅鈥 Springhill and the 网红黑料 Emergency Center 鈥 Kanapaha.

With the closest 24-hour pharmacy located in Jacksonville, an hour鈥檚 drive away, the kiosks, manufactured by MedAvail Technologies, fill a critical need for 网红黑料 emergency patients in Gainesville.

网红黑料 pharmacy officials said the kiosks are available every day of the week, 24 hours a day. Aside from dispensing prescriptions in the middle of the night, they also save patients the time and trouble of going to a brick-and-mortar pharmacy at other times. This can be especially helpful to someone who is sick or has limited mobility, officials said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just as if you walk into a pharmacy, walk to the window and say, 鈥楬i, I鈥檓 here to pick up my prescription,鈥欌 said Suzy Wise, Pharm.D, M.B.A., director of pharmacy, ambulatory services - 网红黑料 Shands. 鈥淥ur patients are getting a prescription right away without having to drive to the pharmacy on the way home and maybe wait hours for it to be filled.鈥

The machines accept all insurance types, including commercial insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, and can take payment with mobile pay, credit or debit card. They do not hold or accept cash.

Wise said the kiosks are popular with patients who can get a medication in about five minutes right at the emergency center.

No patient information is stored in the machines.

鈥淚 admit I was a little unsure of the technology until I saw it demonstrated,鈥 said Matthew B. Shannon, M.D., an assistant professor in the 鈥檚 and medical director of the 网红黑料 emergency centers at Springhill and Kanapaha. 鈥淭hen, whatever fears I had completely went away. These kiosks have distinct advantages. And the magic sauce is that patients still talk to a pharmacist. We don鈥檛 take that away.鈥

Using a kiosk is more involved than buying a snack from a vending machine 鈥 but not that much more.

The process starts with a doctor prescribing a medication for a patient about to be discharged. It might be an antibiotic for an infection, a high blood pressure medication, an inhaler for someone with asthma or a drug for any of the torrent of ailments emergency physicians tend to daily.

A patient is given the option of picking up the medication at the kiosk and is guided to the machine by a 网红黑料 staff member. The patient presses a button on a touch screen, and a pharmacist appears on the screen via video link to offer counseling or answer questions.

The patient makes a payment, if one is necessary. At the end of the encounter, the drug drops into a secure bin, a door rises, and the patient can take the medication and patient education leaflets.

Using the kiosks is intuitive and easy, even for those who do not feel confident on a computer, officials said.

鈥滻t鈥檚 really been a driver for a better patient experience,鈥 said , M.D., medical director of the 网红黑料 Shands Emergency Room and an associate professor in the UF College of Medicine鈥檚 department of emergency medicine. 鈥淲e鈥檙e having a bedside conversation with the patient about the value of the pharmacy kiosks. Many of them are excited to get their prescriptions before they even walk to the parking lot.鈥

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Bill Levesque
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