An invitation to Small Business Saturday

This Saturday, November 26th, we want to celebrate Small business Saturday with you! It's a special holiday (now in its 6th year), created so we can show love for the small businesses in our communities. Before you spend your time and money cyber-shopping, check out the special sales at our local stores throughout Macoupin County, and keep your money where its most appreciated. At all three of our stores in Bunker Hill, Carlinville, and Gillespie, on Friday & Saturday we are featuring 25% off all Vionic slippers (part of Oprah's Favorite Things for 2016), 25% off all Vionic shoes, and 25% off Dr. Comfort Slippers & Shoes.
Thank you for your support!

You're invited to our Grand Opening Event

We are very pleased to invite you to the Grand Opening Celebration of our new store in Bunker Hill! Following many months of prepping our new location at 809 Franklin St. and a month-long trial run to get everything smoothed out, we’re ready to officially welcome you to our new pharmacy. We will be hosting a celebration this Fri & Sat, with free hot dogs, chips, and soft drinks on Sat from 11am-1pm. There will be gift bags for new customers, and a drawing for a 32" LED tv and a $50 gift card for Meehan's IGA! Our guests include Mayor Tom Ament and IGA's Pat Meehan. Grand Opening specials include 40% off gift items and 25% off Woodburn Country Store products.

Okay, Bunker Hill, it's time!

It's been a long road, with some unexpected twists, turns, and the occasional pothole, but we've finally arrived! Our doors open in Bunker Hill at 8:30am tomorrow, October 3rd, at 809 Franklin St. next to Meehan's IGA. Stop by and meet us and get to know all the amazing services we provide. We'll have some folks on hand to explain Simplify My Meds, Simple Savings, our Compounding and Home Care services and what we can do to help make your pharmacy experience better.
We'll be here Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm and Saturday from 8:30am to 2pm. We're open to suggestions, so bring along your requests for our over-the-counter products (we have access to hundreds more items that we can add to our daily stock, and can easily handle your special requests).

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to serve you, and look forward to making new friends!

About our new telepharmacy in Bunker Hill

We've been fielding questions about our new remote telepharmacy opening October 3rd in Bunker Hill, so it's time now for a little discussion about what a telepharmacy actually is.

 According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, telepharmacies have been authorized in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Wyoming and the District of Columbia. In 2010, the Illinois legislature telepharmacy regulations were included in a rewrite of the state’s pharmacy laws that is done every decade. Economic conditions usually dictate the placement and numbers of independent pharmacies, often resulting in a loss of much needed services. Since some patients who might have to travel long distances on the day they receive their prescriptions from their physicians, they may hold off on filling those scrips until they can travel again to a town with a pharmacy.

Enter the concept of telepharmacies, through which pharmaceutical care is delivered via telecommunications by a pharmacist working away from the clinic. Telepharmacies began to be formed in the United States shortly after the turn of the century. The Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis said in a 2011 paper that the growth of telepharmacies corresponded with changes in Medicare reimbursement and the recession of 2007-08.

Let's take a look at how this works.
A telepharmacy, or remote-dispensing site, operates like a traditional pharmacy except the pharmacist reviews and verifies prescriptions from a remote location. In our case, patients who come in can speak to our pharmacists in either Carlinville or Gillespie (depending on which location is available for the quickest response).
 
1) A prescription arrives at the pharmacy.
After arriving at the pharmacy, prescriptions will enter through the pharmacy management system (PMS) in our Bunker Hill store. Our highly advanced software integrates with our PMS for a seamless, real-time experience. Our licensed technicians prepare it for dispensing by the pharmacist.

2) The prescription is filled.
For the prescription to be verified, our technicians send images of the script, medication labels, pills, and the medication bottle with the lot number and expiration date in view to the remote pharmacist. These images, along with the patient’s profile, are securely stored for review before, during or after verification.

3) The pharmacist verifies the prescription.
Pharmacists will review the patient’s medication profile for drug interactions and other potential problems. After the pharmacist reviews the images they can either approve or reject the submission. If rejected, the pharmacist leaves notes for the technician regarding the discrepancy. If approved, the technician is notified and the medication is packaged.

4) Live video patient counseling. 
 When you pick up your medications, you’re presented with an option to speak to a pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns. The remote pharmacist has all necessary patient information, including medication history, readily available during counseling. Our consultation room is a private area where you can discuss any concerns with the responding pharmacist over a live, technologically secure HIPAA-compliant video connection.

So, Bunker Hill, to wrap up, you can expect the same high-quality service you've come to know with us. In a more convenient location. Open 6 days each week. We may be popping in from time-to-time before our opening on October 3rd, so if the door is open, stop in and say Hi!

Hey Bunker Hill! Our doors are opening on October 3rd!

Things are finally coming together (following some unanticipated delays) for the opening of our telepharmacy at 809 Franklin St. (next to Meehan's IGA.). Barring any further disruptions, we will open up on Monday, October 3rd. We'll get back to you with our operating hours in the next couple weeks. 

We are very excited to have an opportunity to  serve you, and are looking forward to introducing you to our range of services and programs including Simplify My Meds, Simple Savers, free diabetic test strips, home care services, Dr. Comfort diabetic shoes, compounding, and free delivery. Watch this blog for the announcement of our Grand Opening Celebration. We thank you for your patience - we're looking forward to making new friends and continuing our service to our current friends! Next week we'll be back here with everything you want to know about what this "telepharmacy" is all about!

Getting closer every day...

Following some unforeseen problems with a service provider which caused a delay, things are getting back on track with the construction at our new store in Bunker Hill. Most of the advanced high-speed internet/video/audio services, designed with regard to the highest security standards, is in place and operational. Last weekend, Wally got the new signage installed and some exterior painting completed. We'll have some new pics for you early next week. 

 

One More Time!

We realize we did not give you much notice the last time our Dr. Comfort Sandals were on sale last month, so we're doing it again. And, yes again at the last minute (sorry). Anyway, today, Friday and Saturday Aug 11-13, our DC flip-flops and slides are 50% OFF! Normally $60, during this sale they are $30. 
 
And at an even bigger savings, all our DC sandals are $40... normally $98. All in-stock styles, colors, and sizes for women and men are included.