DCMC adds a dose of convenience for its ER patients

Rachel Sankey

Past Staff

April 21, 2023

DOOR COUNTY – Getting the prescriptions you need after an ER visit has become almost as easy as purchasing a snack from a vending machine at Door County Medical Center (DCMC).

The hospital announced the addition of InstyMeds, a prescription medication dispensing system, to its Emergency Department.
Bradley Hobart, a clinical pharmacist at DCMC, said although the machine – which officially went live last month – dispenses prescription medications, “it’s not technically considered a pharmacy.”

“There is no pharmacist or technician filling the prescriptions pursuant to a doctor’s order,” he said. “It’s considered similar to prescribing from a doctor’s office.”

How it works
Hobart said the process for patients receiving their prescription from InstyMeds is “really slick.”

Just like with a pharmacy, he said physicians can write a prescription and send it electronically to a pharmacy.

In this case, Hobart said the pharmacy is InstyMeds.

“Everything is a closed system – no other physician outside our walls can enter a prescription to InstyMeds,” he said. “So, it’s completely closed off.”

Once the physician puts through an order for a prescription, Hobart said a printer dedicated to InstyMeds will print out a voucher with a code on it.

From there, the patient will receive the voucher and can type the code in the InstyMeds machine.

“The machine will know exactly what to dispense,” he said.

From there, he said the patient will pay for the prescription and be on their way.

All the available medications in the machine are pre-filled and ready to dispense.

In total, Hobart said there are about 80 different medications in the InstyMeds machine, which is much smaller than what a normal pharmacy would carry.

//tbnapp.cdn.bubble.io/f1682091981704x447845193253563840/richtext_content.webpDoor County Medical Center’s InstyMeds machine has been up and running since March 15. Submitted Photo

“It doesn’t include any maintenance medications,” he said. “So, people who are on blood thinners or people who are taking blood pressure medications or heart medications, we don’t carry any of that. This machine isn’t intended to replace pharmacies, and it’s certainly not intended to replace the retail pharmacist.”

Hobart said the machine also has a phone attached to it that will directly call InstyMeds’ support line, where patients can talk to a pharmacist if they have any questions.

The line is open 24/7.

“I don’t want anybody to get this idea that… this machine will dispense (medications) with no oversight or education,” he said. “The voucher itself prints out medication information and adverse/side effects. And patients also have the ability to interact with a pharmacist if they need to.”

Hobart said DCMC isn’t the first medical facility in Wisconsin to use InstyMeds.

“I have some experience at another facility in Wisconsin that was using InstyMeds, which is why I took the lead on this project,” he said. “I was previously at Reedsburg Area Medical Center, so we’re not the first in Wisconsin.”

Other medical facilities to use InstyMeds includes Ascension Calumet Hospital in Chilton; Holy Family Memorial Medical Center in Manitowoc; ThedaCare Medical Center in New London and Shawano and ThedaCare Regional Medical Center in Neenah.

Filling a specific need
While InstyMeds doesn’t cover the day-to-day maintenance medications for the community, Hobart said the machine is still needed in the Door County area.

“The ideal use for an InstyMeds is for the emergency room, urgent care or a clinic that’s open after hours when other pharmacies are closed,” he said.?

In more rural areas, such as Door County, Hobart said InstyMeds works really well.

//tbnapp.cdn.bubble.io/f1682092031769x426780804104599740/richtext_content.webpBradley Hobart

“While we have a number of pharmacies, none of them are 24/7, and the staffing shortages in our area are forcing our pharmacies to close a few hours early (or) shut down on the weekends,” he said. “Hours are quite limited now. So, in rural areas in the urgent setting, they can be a big patient-satisfier. That’s kind of what we identified in our situation as big pros to implementing (InstyMeds).”

Hobart said adding InstyMeds to DCMC also helps with the hospital’s stock of medications.

“(If) a patient was to be discharged from our emergency department or urgent care without a medication they would need overnight until they could get into a pharmacy… (we) dispense short supplies from our own hospital stock,” he said. “While that’s okay in a pinch, it’s a huge workaround for our nursing staff to do that – to send patients home with medications. Generally, it’s not considered best practice to do that.”

Not a replacement
When it comes to the future of pharmacy, Hobart said InstyMeds is not meant to be a replacement of pharmacies and won’t be.

“This machine is not replacing any jobs anytime soon,” he said. “It’s merely a patient-satisfier. In general, it’s going to improve the health of our community without impacting local retail pharmacies – especially considering they’re struggling to fill the number of prescriptions with the staff they have as is.”