My VA: Pharmacy Service
A pharmacist checks the auto dispenser which has greatly improved the accuracy and speed of filling prescriptions.
The MyVA transformation strategies seek to improve Veterans’ experiences by building effective and emotionally engaging health care opportunities. MyVA strategies also include improving employees’ experiences by providing resources and supporting initiatives that offer great service and consistently deliver an exceptional Veteran experience.
Check in often during the upcoming months as we share our MyVA health care stories and our vision of how we are working to improve Veterans’ knowledge and community familiarity of health programs and new services available at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
If you’ve visited the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s Outpatient Pharmacy lately, you may have noticed some welcome changes; like your prescription was filled more quickly and there are more staff members on hand to process your requests and answer your questions.
Now under the new leadership of Chief, Pharmacy Service, Nathaniel Roberts, Pharm.D, a retired Army major, the service is leading the VISN in Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy Penetration. The CMOP functions as a virtual extension of VA medical center pharmacies by mailing prescription medications and supplies directly to Veterans’ homes.
Educating Veterans about the proper use of the mail order system has had a ripple effect in the Washington DC VA Medical Center’s Outpatient Pharmacy. According to Dr. Roberts, improvements in wait times and customer satisfaction ratings in the pharmacy are the result, in part, to more Veterans using the CMOP.
“Since January, when we restructured our internal sections to allow staff more opportunities to educate Veterans about CMOP; we’ve seen a steady increase in the percentage of prescriptions filled by mail order instead of the Outpatient Pharmacy,” said Roberts.
With more Veterans using the mail order system, everyone wins, Roberts explained.
“The Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy is convenient and economical; Veterans don’t have to wait in line and spend money on transportation to the hospital,” Roberts said. Also, with fewer Veterans picking up refills in person, those who are waiting on new prescriptions don’t have to wait as long.
There are three ways to refill prescription using the CMOP:
1. Mail Order – Mail refill slips to: Pharmacy Service (119), 5801 Allentown Road, Camp Springs, MD 20746;
2. Telephone Order – 24 hours a day, seven days a week via the automated Dial-A-Refill system, 202-745-4046 or 1-888-553-0242;
3. Online- by signing up for MyHealtheVet – 202-745-8000, 57059 or visit http://www.myhealth.va.gov.
Veterans who are out of refills may call the Advice Line, 202-745-8000, option 3 to relay a message to their primary care provider to obtain a prescription renewal.
For medication questions or to report problems with medications, call the pharmacy at 202-745-8235. It’s open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and closed on Sundays and federal holidays except Veterans Day.
