BOISE, Idaho — Cascade, Idaho, is considered a pharmacy desert after its only pharmacy burned down nearly two years ago. To help bridge the gap, Cascade Medical Center got an InstyMeds machine in May.
To date, CEO Tom Reinhardt said more than 1,000 medications have been dispensed, which is about five each day.
"It holds about 70 different prescriptions," he said, "antibiotics, prescriptions for nausea, prescriptions for pain and inflammation, inhalers for asthma, things that combat the flu and other infections."
Reinhardt said the machine is secure. A patient's insurance information is transferred from the hospital's electronic medical record. Once at the machine, they must enter a code and confirm their identity.
Cascade Medical Center serves an area of about 2,800 square miles, from Yellow Pine, Smiths Ferry and Donnelly. Right now, the closest pharmacies from Cascade are in McCall, about 30 miles away.
However, travel time can climb to one hour depending on winter road conditions. Nurse practitioner Katie Ferguson said the InstyMeds machine gives patients, especially seniors unable to travel, a more convenient option.
"Just decreasing the risk of exposure to the rest of the community, decreasing their risk of traveling when they're not feeling well, decreasing the risk of other people on the road when they're not feeling well, sick children," she said, "Nobody wants to take their sick kid for an hour and a half ride."
Patient Alicia Bateman used the machine for the first time last fall after spending some time in the emergency room. She drives from out of town for medical care in Cascade.
Bateman, who has a daughter, said it saved her a lot of time and energy.
"The day that I was in the emergency room, I really did not want to drive to McCall, get out of the car with the baby, stand in line, do all that," she said. "So, it was just super convenient being able to get done with the emergency room discharge, get my stuff and then go home."
The machine cost Cascade Medical Center $12,000 upfront and $1,500 each month to rent, Reinhardt said. An investment he said they were willing to make for the well-being of their patients.
Both he and Ferguson think other hospitals, especially those in rural Idaho, should consider getting an InstyMeds machine if financially plausible.
"It has to be weighed, cost versus benefit," Ferguson said. "It's not a cheap thing to do. If they can afford it, get a grant to supply it some other way for that community be able to access that I think it's a huge benefit."
A new Cascade pharmacy is on the way. Reinhardt said it will likely open within the next couple of months. However, the InstyMeds machine will not go anywhere.
"The pharmacy in town won't be open 24/7," he said. "We're open 24/7, and we see patients at any time of day, and it's really great for patients to be able to get their medication before they go home."
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