JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas —
The Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and Randolph Pharmacy teams are changing some of their processes to improve service to beneficiaries.
The following process updates will take effect on September 6, 2022:
Process Update #1 – Get Process Change
From September 6, 2022, patients will no longer have to queue to pick up their medications. Instead, once they pick up a number from a kiosk to pick up, they can sit down and wait for their number to be called.
Process Update #2 – Routine drug turnaround times
Activate new recipes – Elk routine Medicines are ready after 1:00 PM on the second day of work after activation. Patients can activate routine prescriptions using the Q-Anywhere system by texting “Get in line” to 833-517-4408 (JBSA-Lackland) or 833-258-0792 (-JBSA-Randolph) during work hours between 7am o’clock and 4:30 o’clock
Activate prescription refills – Any medications called for a refill will be ready after 1 p.m. on the third working day after activation. To obtain refills, patients will still call the Refill Line at 210-292-9995. The phone number may also be on your prescription label. Remember to write/prepare prescription numbers when calling refills.
The pharmacy teams recommend that patients start medication renewals/refills as early as possible using the following timelines:
Per TRICARE, refills can be called when 75 percent of the supplied stock has been used:
- For medicines for 90 days, the filling can be called 21 days before the medication is finished
- For medicines for 60 days, the refill can be called 14 days in advance
- For medication for 30 days, the refill can be called 7 days in advance
Medication renewals should be initiated with your healthcare provider, so make sure there is plenty of time for that process in addition to the timelines listed above.
Process Update #3 – Urgent Recipe Process
The pharmacy teams will use the existing space and capacity to create an internal “Urgent Care Pharmacy” to optimize the process of obtaining urgent medicines. The aim of the Emergency Pharmacy is to provide patients with their urgent medicines within one to two hours after the first check-in. Urgent drug activation will no longer be an option with the Q-Anywhere system. Visit your preferred pharmacy, Lackland or Randolph, for ALL urgent medication services.
*Urgent medications include: short course acute treatments with painkillers (JBSA-Lackland only)antibiotics and/or steroid dose packs OR medications for patients discharged from the emergency room or hospital/urgent care within the past 72 hours.
Process Update #4 – Electronically Controlled Substance Regulations Only
In accordance with Texas state law, paper requirements for: controlled substances is no longer accepted. All JBSA pharmacies, including JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph, and Brooke Army Medical Center, only accept electronic prescriptions for controlled substances.
Process Update #5 – Disable Phone Line
Pharmacy call center phone lines will be disabled for both JBSA-Lackland and JBSA-Randolph. Dial activations are disabled. Patients must use Q-Anywhere or lobby kiosks to activate prescriptions. This process change is not intended to limit patient choice, but to provide better support by deploying additional staff in other areas of the pharmacy. Current call center wait times and poor phone system functionality (call drops) are not up to the standard of customer support we would like to provide.
Other pharmacy options
Home delivery
For beneficiaries who wish to receive medicines through home delivery, Express Scripts is a TRICARE service. Visit https://militaryrx.express-scripts.com/home-delivery or call 1-877-363-1303, option 3 for more information. There are co-payments, but beneficiaries will reduce the time they spend in the pharmacy.
Personal contribution (may differ depending on medication/daily supply):
- Generic Formulary – $12
- Brand Name Formula – $34
- Non-Formula – $68
Retail Network Pharmacies
Find retail network pharmacies at https://militaryrx.express-scripts.com/find-pharmacy. There are co-payments, but beneficiaries will reduce the time they spend in the pharmacy.
Personal contribution (may differ depending on medication/daily supply):
- Generic Formulary – $14
- Brand Name Formulary – $38
- Non-Formula – $68
Pick-up lockers on prescription
The Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center ScriptCenter lockers are located on the B-Wing corridor on the first floor, next to the pharmacy. This contactless, automated locker allows beneficiaries to pick up the prescription refills 24/7 at ease. After closing time, access can be obtained by coming through the FEC entrance.
Why change the process?
The 59th Medical Wing is updating these processes following the completion of an internal study that found that demand for pharmacy services is currently 26% higher than what the wing can deliver. These process updates allow the 59th MDW to send routine refills to a remote robotic pharmacy, where the refills are currently being processed, reducing congestion at the WHASC pharmacy. The 59th MDW has sought to standardize as much as possible the care received in the San Antonio market today, while striving to dispense prescriptions in a predictable, medically appropriate time frame and to address the frustrations patients currently face, to light up.
The JBSA-Lackland Pharmacy is the Air Force’s largest and busiest pharmacy, dispensing more than 1 million outpatient prescriptions annually.
