The Health Services building at the ASU Tempe campus. (Photo by Shawn Raymundo)
An ATM-like vending machine dispensing prescription drugs opened Tuesday night on the Tempe campus as a replacement for the recently closed on-campus pharmacy.
The machine is created by a Minnesota-based company called InstyMeds, Christiana Moore, associate director of ASU Health Services, said in an email.
“ASU Health Services in Tempe will provide a new and innovative vending concept called InstyMeds, which will allow students to obtain prescriptions safely,” Moore said.
Moore called the machine a “secure option for students to receive prescriptions.”
Chemical engineering junior Justin Easa said he was not aware of the machine replacing the pharmacy, but he did not think a machine was the best option for dispensing drugs.
He said he thought it could be hard to monitor who was actually receiving the drugs and which drugs were being dispensed.
"I don't know if there is a way to make it as secure as a pharmacy," he said.
The machine contains the 50 most commonly prescribed medications to students, Moore said. These medications include antibiotics, asthma treatments, antihistamines, probiotics, anti-nausea medicine, medications used for quitting smoking and vitamins, Moore said.
“Narcotics and controlled substances will not be dispensed,” Moore said.
Students must visit an on-campus Health Services provider to gain access to the machine, Moore said.
Students will be issued a personalized security code after their appointment, and the code is only good for 24 hours, Moore said.
“In order to receive medications from the machine, students must input the security code and their date of birth,” Moore said. “For security purposes, the medication is scanned three times prior to dispensing to ensure precision and accuracy.”
Students can pay for the medicine using their own insurance and can charge the costs to their ASU account using the machine, Moore said.
According to the InstyMeds website, a doctor can electronically enter the prescription information and give the patient a voucher to access the medicine from the machine. It takes about 90 seconds for a prescription to be distributed.
The website says the machine is designed for a first fill of a prescription, meaning if a patient has a prescription he or she needs to refill, the patient would have to go to another pharmacy. The medicines inside are “short-term” type medicines, so patients with chronic health conditions will need to use a pharmacy.
The types of drugs in each machine are tailored to the needs of the environment, but allow quick access for people who need an available medication on site.
According to the website, the machine eliminates the danger of a person receiving the wrong prescription because if a medication is in the wrong place, it will not pass the barcode scan and will not be dispensed.
Moore said a phone attached to the machine will allow students to speak with a pharmacist or billing representative if they have questions about their medications or what they cost, Moore said.
Pharmacists generally advise patients about potential drug interactions, as well as if drugs should be taken with food or drink.
Students may still be feeling the pain of not having an on-campus pharmacy, but Moore said ASU Health Services hopes to make the switch easier with transferring options.
“ASU Health Services is committed to excellence in health care and provides innovative health solutions that meet the needs of ASU students,” Moore said. “After the closure of the pharmacy located on the Tempe campus in September 2014, students now also have the opportunity of receiving e-prescribing services that allow medications to be sent seamlessly to a pharmacy of the student’s choice.”
Reach the reporter at cvanek@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @corinavanek
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