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janette Ridley, PharmD, MHA presented at ASHP Midyear the findings on a discharge study conducted at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital. Their purpose was to increase discharge medication access. They understand that increased access allows for increased prescription adherence to medication regimens. The study was conducted with the help of their ScriptCenter locker solution, the method in which they called for their discharge patients to pickup their prescriptions.

Some key findings from the study include:
15% increase in prescriptions filled at the Vanderbilt pharmacy after ScriptCenter installed
At time of discharge, there was a positive impact on medication access for patients via their ScriptCenter unit
The Vanderbilt M2B team increased prescriptions that were routed to their pharmacy after the install of ScriptCenter
Additionally, data suggests that increased prescription access allows for an overall increase in patient prescription adherence. The first step in adherence is a patient having their prescription in their hands. A finding from a 2018 US Pharm study found that increased prescription adherence “can have a tremendous impact on quality and length of life, health outcomes, and overall healthcare costs”. Additionally, engagement of patients is “essential” to the success of increasing adherence. A way to do that? A centralized pickup point. A solution like an automated pharmacy kiosk or locker system creates ease of access for patients. For pharmacy, it increases the overall pharmacy footprint without the need of adding additional staff. Automated pharmacy solutions allow for the pharmacy staff to work at the top of their license by moving elements like delivery to the machine. 

For more information and to read the poster in it’s entirety, see a downloadable version on our website.

A new UCI, UCSD study shows automated prescription kiosks offer increased prescription adherence with patients.