As a former regional manager of a large pharmacy chain and now director of the Med Center Pharmacy, David Flynn knows how intense the competition for customers can be.
What separates the Med Center Pharmacy, Flynn said, is its customer service, which offers perks that large chains can’t match.
“We’re not open 24 hours; we don’t have a drive-through,” Flynn said, “but we’ll do everything we can to meet the needs of our customers.”
The Med Center Pharmacy offers convenience in a variety of ways, most notably through its same-day delivery service for WVU Healthcare staff, which includes all employees on campus or within a 15-mile radius of Ruby Memorial Hospital.
Employees can order through CONNECT, the Med Center Pharmacy website or by calling 304-598-4848. On campus deliveries begin at 10:30 a.m. each day with off-site deliveries beginning at 12:30 p.m. The cut-off time for same-day requests is 11 a.m. Staff can also request refills over the phone at night and pick up prescriptions or have them delivered the next day. Prescriptions for staff and patients are also available – for free – through home mail delivery.
And unlike chain stores, employees can pay for their medications through a payroll deduction. Flynn noted that more than 300 common medications are available at no cost for patients on the hospital’s insurance plan, Geisinger. All other medications are available at a discounted rate compared to other retailers, including costly medications, which Flynn can usually offer at a much lower price.
Med Center Pharmacy also has the ability to compound medications that are not commercially available. These medication orders can be compounded on site to fit the unique needs of each patient.
With these amenities, it’s no wonder the service is catching on.
The Med Center Pharmacy filled more than 200,000 prescriptions in 2014; 31,000 were in-house deliveries and 8,000 were delivered through the mail.
Convenience has been added for patients, too. Along with the mail service, patients and staff visiting the Med Center Pharmacy can park for free for 15 minutes while they pick up their medications. The spots are available in front of the canopy of the Physician Office Center.
Also, a new pharmacy location is being completed on the ground level of the new WVU Health and Education Building, which houses WVU Urgent Care, Evansdale. The building is across from the WVU Student Rec Center. The new facility, Mountaineer Pharmacy, will open in the next few months, Flynn said.
