Hospitals and the Department of Defense have endorsed kiosks as a convenient way for patients to pick up prescriptions. Retail pharmacies are starting to recognize their value too.
Interest from major retail chains has picked up in the past two months or so, says Linda Pinney, founder and CEO of Asteres, which has delivered more than two million prescriptions via its ScriptCenter kiosks.
“Stores are looking at all these various ways to improve their traffic — such as curbside pickup — because foot traffic is dropping at the front of the store. The advent of home delivery services like Amazon, PeaPod, and DoorDash is hurting foot traffic at all types of stores, including supermarkets and drug store chains,” Pinney tells Drug Topics.
Asteres, which has hundreds of kiosks in healthcare systems, military bases, and Veterans Administration facilities, is now in talks with several major retail chains, according to Pinney.
ScriptCenter kiosks differ from Express Scripts and MedAvail’s new MedCenter prescription kiosks because they are operated by the pharmacies themselves and are not considered a dispensary. They simply serve as a pickup point for prescription—and a convenient service that could draw in new pharmacy customers. “We are not replacing the pharmacy; we are an extension of the pharmacist. The pharmacy fills it as usual and ScriptCenter is a pickup place,” Pinney says.
MedCenter kiosks, meanwhile, can safely and securely dispense chronic, acute, and OTC medications under the supervision of licensed pharmacists, and are compatible with both handwritten and electronic prescriptions, according to Express Scripts.
ScriptCenter and MedCenter kiosks have pharmacists available via video or phone calls. Patients at the kiosk can press a button and conduct a video chat with a pharmacist.
Asteres has grown three-fold or four-fold in the last three years. “We have taken our time to go after branded hospitals, such as Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins. Now that the concept is being proven and it has a good value, it is starting to take off,” Pinney says.
Also, more state boards of pharmacy are allowing the kiosks because they realize that “you need alternate access points,” Pinney says. “Thirty percent of discharge scripts are not picked up due to not having access. Convenience equals compliance.”