I know in our neck of the woods, pharmacies close at about 6 PM. So where do you go for medicine? Given the fact that yesterday we went to one during normal business hours and could barely get the right prescription issued after hours of messing around, this sounded pretty neat. This system provides 24 hour service without an being staffed… it’s all done electronically.
It’d be great anywhere, especially those free standing emergency places… as long as the machine can be located where it’s not likely to be vandalized by idiots thinking there’s narcotics in it.
Of course, this machine offers only a limited number of prescription items - those most frequently prescribed.
I wonder if there’s a home business angle servicing a network of these machines like other vending machines?
Here’s more about how it works (pdf file)
From the Instymeds.comwebsite:
InstyMeds Corporation, a Minneapolis based company, has developed the InstyMeds™ prescription dispensing system - the healthcare industry’s first fully automated, ATM-style, dispenser of prescription medications. State-of-the-art equipment provides safe, convenient dispensing at the point-of-care to patients.
Ken Rosenblum, InstyMeds™ founder, was sent out by his wife at 10:00 PM one evening to have a prescription filled for their son, who at the time was 5 years old and had just been diagnosed with an ear infection. Though there were many nearby pharmacies, Ken couldn’t find one open at that time of night. After doing some investigation, he found that pharmacies are facing a critical, nationwide pharmacist shortage. Along with pharmacists, doctors and engineers, Ken spent the next two years developing the InstyMeds™ prescription dispenser. An on-site pilot began in April 2001 and has since been successfully completed and the system is now being expanded to other locations throughout the country.
Image courtesy Instymeds.com
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