Kirtland Pharmacy undergoing renovations Published July 22, 2010 By By Capt. Zach Finney Pharmacy Flight Commander Kirtland Air Force Base, NM -- On July 19, the Kirtland pharmacy started a major renovation initiative. Construction is expected to be completed Dec. 10. The logistical aspects of moving a pharmacy and maintaining production will be daunting but our staff has planned and established procedures to continue providing safe and effective medication distribution for all our beneficiaries (Kirtland AFB active duty members, dependents and retirees). Your help is needed to get through this construction period. Let me outline the impacts and expectations for the main pharmacy operations for the next five months. The main pharmacy will shift directly across the lobby from it's current location to the previous physical therapy check-in window. Side one of the window will be available for drop-off of civilian written prescriptions. Side two will be for pick-up of these scripts and scripts written by 377th Medical Group providers. All refills will continue to be dispensed at the satellite pharmacy next to the BX. Patients seen by a 377th MDG provider will continue to report to the main lobby and await their name to be placed on the display board. If the wait is greater than 45 minutes please verify with the pharmacy staff that the prescription has been processed and get an update on the status. When dropping off prescriptions written by civilian providers, please ensure you have the following information clearly and legibly written on the back: Sponsor's full social security number, patient's date of birth, medication allergies and a phone number (preferably cell phone). Expect a change in wait times. We will provide three options for you on how long you are able and willing to wait to receive your medications. Option 1: Waiting -- means you are agreeing to physically stay in the Medical Group lobby until your script is filled. Wait times will be between 45-90 minutes and your name will be called and placed on the display board when the script is ready. Option 2: Non-waiting -- means you are going to return in four hours to pick up your script. This option will be available until 1 p.m. daily. Option 3: Tomorrow -- will be the most convenient for those living on and around the base and are getting maintenance medications, as these prescriptions will be ready for pickup after 8 a.m. the next duty day. A few reminders on actions you can take to help us fill the over 450 scripts per day accurately and safely: · Mornings 8-10 a.m. and afternoons 3-4:30 p.m. have shorter "wait" times on average. · If you wait for a prescription to be filled, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. is not the time to drop off. This tends to be our busiest time period with the longest wait times. · Make every effort to honor your word by staying in the facility if waiting or return at the estimated time if you choose the non-waiting or tomorrow options. If our beneficiaries state they will wait for a prescription and do not return until the following day to pick it up, it prevents us from accurately predicting waiting times and delays prescription processing for those who have honored the waiting option. · In order to pick up medications, please have your military ID (or a black and white copy of the front and back if picking up for a family member) and other health insurance card (yellow card) available for the pharmacy staff to verify. Once the correct patient, medication and eligibility are verified the beneficiary will sign for medication pickup and be given the opportunity to be counseled by one of our licensed pharmacists. 5. Don't forget the clinic is closed for the following holidays, AFMC family days and training days: · Aug. 19 · Sept. 3, 6 and 16 · Oct. 11 and 21 · Nov. 11, 25 and 26 We value our beneficiaries and are honored to serve our active-duty military members, dependents, and retirees with high quality pharmacy services. Please bear with us during this time of construction and understand that we are working tirelessly to ensure that your medication needs are safely and efficiently met. If you have any concerns, please feel free to talk with our pharmacy patient advocate the next time you come in to see us.