Military pharmacies can get civilian prescriptions electronically

Army Times — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 09:54:46 -0500

From: Army Times

Military pharmacies nationwide now may accept electronic prescriptions from civilian doctors, eliminating the need for paper or faxed scripts in many cases, according to Defense Health Agency officials.

The transition to an electronic system called e-Rx began in early 2014 and is now available at clinic pharmacies in the U.S., Guam and Puerto Rico.

The program lets military pharmacies receive and process the prescriptions, reducing the time patients must wait to pick up their medications.

Patients seen by military doctors already have their medications entered into an electronic ordering system, but until now civilian physicians could not directly send prescriptions to military pharmacies.

The electronic system not only has the potential to influence wait times, but can help reduce prescription errors, defense officials said.

"E-prescribing makes military pharmacies a more attractive and convenient option for doctors and patients, and it aligns the military health system with current best pharmacy practices," Dr. George Jones, chief of the Defense Health Agency Pharmacy Operation Division, said in a news release.

To use the system, patients can ask their physicians to look for a local military pharmacy in the e-prescribing database. When patients go to pick up their prescriptions at military pharmacies, they must tell staff their prescriptions were sent electronically.

The system is not available for prescriptions for controlled substances. To fill those at a military pharmacy, doctors must still hand-write an order, according to Tricare.

It also cannot be used for medications not carried by the local military pharmacy. Those prescriptions still can be filled at a Tricare network pharmacy or by using the Tricare mail-order system.

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/benefits/health-care/2015/01/12/military-pharmacies-can-get-civilian-prescriptions-electronically/21637507/

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 13 at 2015 9:57 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 09:57:34 -0500

Good to see the improvements in the pharmacy. Those wait times are ridiculous some days..

Response by A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney made Mar 8 at 2024 10:31 PM

A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 22:31:59 -0500

~~ Here's An Interesting Turn Of Events ~~
~
."Is A Military Veteran Entitled To Care And Supplies,
Through ANY VA Facility, Regardless Of Where He Resides"?
~
YES, A Military Veteran CAN receive medical products from out-of-state VA facilities, even if they are not living there.
However, the veteran must be eligible for VA care without needing to enroll or be enrolled in VA health care 1. The eligibility for community care is dependent upon a veteran’s individual health care needs or circumstances 1. In most cases, veterans must receive approval from VA prior to obtaining care from a community provider 1. VA staff members generally make all eligibility determinations 1. Please note that VA is not authorized to ship medications or medical/surgical supply items outside of the U.S. or its territories 2. If you’re a veteran who lives overseas, you remain entitled to the benefits and services you earned through your military service. Most VA benefits are payable regardless of your place of residence or nationality 3. If you’re moving outside the U.S., you’ll need to sign up for the Foreign Medical Program. Through this program, VA will pay for certain needed health care services received in foreign countries to treat a service-connected disability or a disability that’s making a service-connected condition worse 4.I hope this helps.