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In an effort to reduce queuing times, Sainsbury’s stores are considering introducing vending machines that dispense prescription medication. While those in favour of the machines argue that four-fifths of the business at a pharmacy comes from people getting repeats of medication that they’re already using, critics are arguing that dispensing medication with getting a pharmacist involved in the process could have dangerous consequences.

The human touch

A prescription drug comes with a number of warnings, and questions that need to be asked to patients by a pharmacist regarding other medication that they may be taking or even food that wouldn’t react well to the medicine. Then, there’s the problem of the patient’s questions – and the chance that he or she will be less likely to ask them if it involves the extra effort of seeking out a pharmacist who isn’t right there anyway.

After hours

Two important uses of the vending machines will be the dispensing of prescription medication after hours, and helping people in remote areas to get their hands on their medicine. While the vending machines are all about convenience, their usefulness could extend even to the point where they’re ‘lifesavers’ to those who find it difficult to travel the distance to collect a prescription medication.

Checking it out

One thing that those who disapprove of the vending machines don’t seem to be worried about is that medication could fall into the wrong hands. That’s probably because the identification process involved will be lengthy, probably demanding fingerprint identification alongside a pin code. Many medical devices are used at home to do what only doctors used to be able to, and make the lives of those dependent on them significantly easier – so, while this isn’t quite the same thing, prescription vending medications could be a great help to medication users if implemented correctly.

Tags: medical devices, Medication