Diligent work keeps pharmacy, technicians busy Published March 31, 2011 By Airman 1st Class Jack Sanders JBER PAO JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Members of the 673d Medical Group Pharmaceutical team work together to ensure quick and accurate dispensing of medications to hospital patrons. From the time the doctors write the prescription until it's picked up, the pharmacy is working diligently to fill the order. First, ensure the correct medication and amount gets to the patient. Secondly, they strive to provide quick process time with minimal wait time on the patient. A minimal wait time is can be challenging for the pharmacy team since it supplies a large customer base, said Air Force Staff Sgt. Christina Easter, 673d Medical Group. The pharmacy team serves around 115,000 beneficiaries each year, which averages out to roughly 400 people daily. Most have more than one prescription, and all of the medications go through the same screening process. The pharmacy team begins its thorough check-and-balance process after the order is dropped off. For most of the commonly prescribed medications, the pharmacy technician scans the order and the medication is counted out by machine. After the machine dispenses the drugs, they're checked and double-checked by two technicians to ensure it's the right drug and that the correct amount is there. After both technicians have signed off on the process, the medicines are sent through a final check by a pharmacist. "Everything for that (particular) patient goes into a tote and it comes over here so that the pharmacist can check it and verify the prescription," said Tech. Sgt. Latonya Reno, 673d MDG, noncommissioned officer in charge of the outpatient pharmacy. "She gets the same screen for each (of the medications) that she scans. She'll verify the directions and that everything is on that prescription, ... then she'll scan her barcode that says she's the pharmacist that checked it." For more uncommon medications, technicians still have to count the drugs out by hand before sending it through to the next check station. Reno said that all medications receive the same level of care and inspection, but narcotics require a few extra safety steps. "We use a C-2 safe which uses biometrics to get in, like a finger print," Reno said. "The technician will go and log all the prescription information like the drug and the quantity they're trying to take out and it will pop a door open for that medication(in the safe), but narcotics have to go through the same procedures that we do for all the medicine," she said. "The narcotics technician will have to scan the barcode on the bottle. "If the technician had scanned the wrong one it would have beeped and it would have told her to look at this medication again to ensure it is the right one," Reno said. "All the narcotics are double count by two people just to verify the count." Narcotics also have a tamper seal placed on the bottle after the final count. After all the medications have been checked, they get handed out to the patients by technicians, or by pharmaceutical interns working toward their degree. Along with ensuring quality work and care for patients leaving the hospital, the pharmacy staff takes care of the medications for patients staying in the hospital. "We have 55 active beds, but we can accommodate up to 75," Easter said. Pharmacy technicians working in the inpatient processing section of the pharmacy will measure out medication in IV's using a germ-free hood, and fill prescriptions for the patients. Patient satisfaction stays at the forefront of the team's mind, said Easter. "We'd like to let patients know we do our very best even during current events," Easter said. "Safety's our number one goal, but we do try and get it out as fast as we can," Easter said "Patients have the option of filling out a drop-box slip if they don't want to wait."