Pharmacy protects most valuable AF assets

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Keith Ballard
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Phones ringing in the background, pills rattling in their containers and machines humming with activity are just some of the sounds heard at the pharmacy counter inside the 5th Medical Group clinic here.

This is just another day for the men and women assigned to the 5th Medical Support Squadron. "We have nine military and civilian employees servicing 12,300 registered beneficiaries of the pharmacy," said Master Sgt. Tracy Buechler, 5th MDSS diagnostics and therapeutics flight chief.

With an average of 200 to 300 people seen in a day, great care is taken by this Air Force Global Strike Command clinic to ensure everyone receives the correct prescription.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, an estimated 1.3 million Americans are injured each year from medication mistakes. Many of these mishaps are due to drugs having similar names. One example of this is Zantac and Xanax. Zantac is used to treat and prevent ulcers in the stomach and intestines, while Xanax is used to treat anxiety disorders, panic disorders and anxiety caused by depression. Two drugs that sound very similar are used to treat very different problems.

To prevent these kinds of mistakes from happening, the pharmacy here takes several steps to ensure patient safety.

Once a prescription is presented at the pharmacy counter, the order is verified by the staff to ensure it is a legitimate order. If a prescription is handwritten, the physician must be contacted directly. This may seem to be an unnecessary step to take, but consider the side effects of some medications. A kidney transplant recipient wouldn't want to receive a medication that affects kidney function.

After the order is verified, the dosage of the prescribed medication is checked against what is suggested by the manufacturer. If the dosage requested doesn't match what the manufacturer suggests, the physician is contacted to verify the order. Once medication and dosages are confirmed, the prescription can be filled.

"It takes us approximately 20 minutes to fill a prescription," said Sergeant Buechler. "Our focus is on quality, not quantity."

Although it may seem to take a little longer than one would like to get a prescription filled, remember all these steps are taken to ensure customer safety. All the hard work behind the scenes is for the Air Force's most valuable asset: Airmen and their families.