Tours were also available to provide an up close look at how the medical center's pharmacy operates. The brown bag medicine review encouraged patients to bring in all the medicines from their homes, including over the counter medications and prescriptions drugs. Pharmacists were then able to explain what each medication is used for and how it should be taken. Scheuer said they were also able to screen for potential drug interactions and encourage people to discard any drugs that they are no longer taking or those that were expired. New ways of getting prescriptions filled was also explained.
Patients are able to call their refills in either by leaving a message or using a touch tone phone.
Autoscript is a robotic device that automatically locates, fills and labels prescription orders for 300 of the most commonly used medications. Using robotics for prescription filling frees staff members to provide more patient education and counseling as well as faster customer service. Visitors to the pharmacy fair were also given blood pressure and blood glucose readings. Those with abnormal readings were advised to have a repeat reading in a few days and to see their physicians. Though the medical center's Pharmacy Department wasn't able to reach all of the million plus people in the U.S. who misuse their prescriptions each year, those who visited the medical center last week are now on the right track.