IRAHC will defer Rx refills to Binter Pharmacy starting Sept. 3

By G. Anthonie Riis | Fort Knox NewsJune 4, 2019

IRAHC will defer Rx refills to Binter Pharmacy starting Sept. 3
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Beginning Sept. 3, Ireland Army Health Clinic will only issue initial medical prescriptions for active duty military personnel and their dependents and all refill prescriptions for active duty, dependents and retirees at Binter Street Pharmacy.

Captain Travis Weaver, chief of pharmacy at IRAHC, said this change is due to other changes, namely those that involve the downsizing of working space at the legacy building to the new to health clinic.

"This change is necessary for us to preposition ourselves for the way we will operate in the new IRAHC building. The pharmacy in the new building is designed in a way to service the active duty [service members] and their beneficiaries," Weaver said. "The space at the new [clinic] pharmacy is not large enough to accommodate all beneficiary population prescriptions … it is going to be smaller and have less pharmacy interaction windows than the space that is currently being used at the [current] building."

Weaver said the change will streamline the process for everyone because the refill system doesn't differentiate between active duty and their beneficiaries and retirees and their beneficiaries. Having the initial prescription issued for active duty personnel conducted at the new clinic and medicine refills dispensed at the pharmacy on Binter Street helps resolve the confusion.

The change also means that resources can be pooled to meet the greatest demand.

"This will be helpful as it allows us to position staff, equipment and resources in the pharmacy that will be seeing the most patients," Weaver said. "We have made renovations at Binter Street Pharmacy and are in the planning and execution phase to adjust resources to accommodate the change in workload at that location."

Both facilities are making the transition now to ease any disruption later, said Weaver.

"We need to make adjustments to our workflow and practices before we move to the new building so that we are poised, refined and positioned to make the move," said Weaver. "We will process all refills, [to include all called-in and online requested refills] only at Binter Street Pharmacy, and we'll allocate resources and staff to support the change in mission requirements.

"This will allow the pharmacy department to operate as efficiently as possible."

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