The Economics of Prescription Dispensing Systems

While the dispenser plays a big role in getting patients their prescriptions, what happens behind the scenes is just as important. A common fear critics have of the machine is the possibility of medication errors.

“We have a triple barcode check to validate that you’re always going to get the medication prescribed,” said Robert Bang, director of sales and marketing for InstyMeds. “We have a very unique way of replenishing the dispenser. We’re shipping the replenishments and we’re shipping them on an intuitive basis. We’re tracking utilization of our clients, so they always have the right medications at the right times for their patients.”

Meanwhile, the patient’s insurance company is billed automatically and the software checks for interactions between any other medications dispensed at that time. “There are so many options for how to be set up,” Bang said. “Every one of our installations is quite unique based upon the goals and objectives of its location.”

For Script Centers, the process of getting prescriptions from the doctor to the vending machine is very different. A prescription has to already be prepared for the patient before it enters the system. “We’re sort of the anti-vending machine,” Pinney said. “In InstyMeds’ machines, you have rows or pockets of a given medication that gets specified for a patient. In ours, every prescription that’s in there is already specified for a patient, so every location is completely unique.” Each machine can hold up to 500 exclusive prescriptions.

Dispensing Methods

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores estimated that pharmacists dispensed more than 3 billion prescriptions in 2006. Even more staggering is that pharmacists placed more than 900 million prescription-related telephone calls to physician offices, costing approximately $5 to $7 per call, or $280 billion a year, according to the association. Much of this cost goes back to physicians for office staff, time, and telephone and fax charges.

So why do pharmacists feel threatened by prescription dispensing machines? One worry is that patients might end up with the wrong drug. Some pharmacists also feel that the machines cut out traditional face-to-face consultations.

Not so, according to Pinney. “This machine is owned, adopted and operated by the retailer. We’re just a vehicle for them,” she said. “They take full ownership of that.”

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