Pharmacy machine coming to Royal City

ROYAL CITY - Royal City residents may no longer need to travel out of town to fill a prescription.

A telepharmacy service is being planned for Royal City Clinic, said Moses Lake Clinic Administrator David Olson.

Olson said he hopes to have the service running by the beginning of 2008.

A room at Royal City Clinic would house two vending machines, holding a total of 128 kinds of prescription medicine.

"Those vending machines are connected via a computer to a pharmacist in Bellevue," Olson said.

After the clinic's physician assistant writes out a prescription, the patient takes it to the pharmacy room. A pharmacy technician takes the prescription and sends it electronically to the pharmacist. The vending machine dispenses the prescription and a label is printed.

People who have questions about the prescription can get their questions answered live by the pharmacist, Olson noted.

"The computer monitor has a live video of the pharmacist in Bellevue," he said.

Olson said the machines, made out of titanium and steel, are secure. They are going to hold certain types of medication, such as inhalers and antibiotics - medications of little interest to a thief, he said. Narcotics are not going to be available from the machine.

Olson said Royal City used to have a pharmacy in the 1980s, but it closed down due to lack of business.

"A little place like Royal City wouldn't be able to afford that, but what they can afford is this system where the pharmacist is in Bellevue," he said.

He said the service could be a model for small towns unable to afford a pharmacy.

Royal City Clinic Physician Assistant Bret Moore said the clinic is excited about the new service.

"It's going to save people gas and keep them safe off the road," Moore said.

Patients can get their medications faster and more conveniently than if they traveled out of town, he said. Patients can come in and be seen by him, receive their prescription and fill it in the same place. In addition, the clinic is less busy than others, Moore said.

"I think the patients here will actually have it easier than people in larger towns," he said.

Royal City residents said they would become patients of the clinic if a pharmacy was available, Olson said.

"We listened to the people in the community," he said.