Madigan outpatient pharmacy closes for renovations Published May 15, 2014 Madigan Army Medical Center Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. -- The Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy is getting ready to revamp and revitalize the way it currently fills prescriptions, with a complete overhaul of its system. Once complete, the new pharmacy will feature intake and outtake windows, more staff during peak hours, a text message option for completed prescriptions and more. "We believe the changes will help give our customers the freedom to manage their own time when picking up their prescriptions, while allowing us to maintain our current high level of safety and accuracy," said Norm Gaudreau, Madigan Ambulatory Pharmacy Services chief. "Once complete, walking into the Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy is going to be a completely new, convenient patient experience." The main renovation will be completed in a very short timeframe over Memorial Day weekend to minimize patient impact. The following is a complete timeline of closures and significant changes patients need to be aware of, as well as answers provided by Gaudreau to some common questions on the changes: May 22-26 - Madigan's Main Outpatient Pharmacy will close for renovations. See question 1 below for more information. May 22 - The Madigan pharmacy located in the Joint Base Lewis-McChord's Lewis Main Exchange Mini Mall (Building 2202) will be permanently closed. May 21 will be the last day for prescription pick-ups, after that day all prescriptions may be picked up at the Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy. See question 4 below for more information. May 27 - The Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy, including the inside walk-up refill window and drive-thru refill pharmacy, will permanently change its hours and will begin opening at 8 a.m. and closing at 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy will remain open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on training holidays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. See question 2 below for more information. Near Future - Outside providers will be able to send prescriptions to the Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy electronically. For those patients assigned to one of Madigan's outlying Patient-Centered Medical Homes, prescriptions may also be sent electronically from an outside provider to their respective clinic. Q1: During the closure of the Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy, will anything be open? How will I get my prescriptions? A1: We are asking patients to please plan ahead as much as possible and ensure they have enough medication to cover the closure. The Madigan drive-thru pharmacy and inside walk-up refill windows will remain open during regular hours for refill prescriptions called in three days in advance. Patients with new prescriptions that would normally be filled at the Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy will be redirected to an alternate site on Friday and Saturday. All outlying Madigan Patient-Centered Medical Home clinics will not be impacted, although patients must be assigned to a specific PCMH clinic to use its pharmacy. Q2: How will shortening the hours in the Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy benefit patients? A2: The new hours will allow us to concentrate our staff to achieve the maximum number of windows open during peak business times. This should decrease the amount of time a patient waits for a prescription. Q3: I keep hearing that the new system will get patients to the window quicker; how? A3: The new process rapidly processes prescriptions in a "triage" fashion. Once patients are seen at intake windows, they can leave and return after their prescriptions are ready (for example after receiving a text or the next day.) Q4: Why is the JBLM Lewis Main Mini Mall Pharmacy closing? A4: The volume does not justify the staffing required. Additionally, external providers will be able to enter prescriptions directly into our system electronically, just as they do to network pharmacies. This will further decrease the need for an off-site pharmacy for paper prescriptions. Q5: Once the JBLM Lewis Main Mini Mall Pharmacy is closed can patients request to have their prescription refilled or filled at one of the other clinics, like McChord or Winder, instead of coming to the Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy? A5: Only patients who are seen at a specific outlying Madigan Patient-Centered Medical Home clinic may use its pharmacy. Those clinics are only stocked and staffed to cover their own patient and prescription volume. In addition, patients with reoccurring medications can order refills to be mailed directly to their homes through Tricare Mail Order Pharmacy. For more information on TMOP, visit www.express-scripts.com/TRICARE. Q6: With the renovation, will the patient flow change in the Madigan Main Outpatient Pharmacy? A6: YES! We are completely overhauling the current process. The new system provides for "intake" and "outtake" windows. The intake windows will be a concierge type of approach where all the necessary preliminary information will be gathered; there will be no prescription filling at these windows. Also at the intake windows, priorities will be assigned and patients will be able to decide if they would like to wait or return later to pick up their prescription. If patients want to return once their orders are filled, they will be able to elect to receive text message alerts letting them know their prescriptions are ready. At an outtake window, patients will receive their prescriptions and important information pertaining to their medication. Q7: With the new system, once a patient receives a text message letting him know his prescription is ready, how long will he have to pick it up? A7: Patients will have three days to pick up their prescription and important medication information from an outtake window. Whether or not a patient decides to wait for a prescription, or return later, this is how all new prescriptions will be picked up and counselling accomplished. Q8: Will active-duty service members in uniform still have priority to pick up outpatient prescriptions? A8: Priorities will be assigned wherever possible, keeping active-duty service members in uniform in mind. Q9: Is this the end of the changes? A9: No; this is actually just a part of the changes we have in store for the Madigan Pharmacy Service. Down the road a bit, patients will be able to scan their tickets to identify where in the process their prescriptions are at that moment, providing an approximate wait time. Eventually, scanning devices will be able to check this status from multiple locations within the hospital. We also hope to one day have a system in place where patients don't even have to come to the pharmacy until their order is ready. Finally, we are also currently in the process of opening a pharmacy directly in the pediatric clinic.