You've long been able to get food, drinks, money and even DVDs out of machine kiosks. Now there is something else Waco residents can get from well designed machines - their prescription medications.
In April, Baylor Scott & White Health installed the first remote prescription kiosk of its kind in Texas on the campus of the Texas Farm Bureau Headquarters in Waco, with more kiosks to be installed throughout the region in the coming months.
The pharmacy kiosks are being introduced at various locations to make filling prescriptions easier for more patients.
Making managing your health easier and more convenient is one of the primary focuses of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, as well as federal and state regulatory agencies.
In fact, the kiosks themselves are as much a regulatory breakthrough as a technological one.
After a year of evaluation, the Texas State Board of Pharmacy approved new rules that took effect in June of last year allowing Texas pharmacies to deliver medications outside of retail pharmacy locations via a kiosk.
These kiosks must maintain the security of the medication and the efficacy of the medication during its storage.
While different kiosks may have different features Baylor Scott & White kiosks fill all prescriptions and make prescriptions available within hours of pharmacy receipt.
They can be picked up 24-hours a day, and pharmacist consultations are available via phone or video.
As they grow in number, kiosks will hopefully help make sticking to a medication plan easier to swallow.
This report, and other episodes, are available at KWBU.org. Business of Health Care is a production of KWBU and Baylor Scott & White Health.
