MDG changes prescription renewal policy Published June 21, 2007 By Maj. Melissa Pammer 22nd Medical Group MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- Have you ever gone to call in a prescription refill only to find you have no refills left? Well, starting July 2, the 22nd Medical Group will have a call-in line through which people can renew eligible prescriptions through their healthcare providers via phone. People should have their medication bottles handy when they call, so they can refer to them for prescription renewal information. The information callers need to renew a prescription should be located on a bottle's label in the blue box, in the first two lines of the yellow box and in the directions on the bottom white area of the label. Callers who don't have their bottles handy will need to provide the first and last name (spelling out the last name) of the patient to whom the prescription belongs, the last four digits of the social security number of that person's sponsor and the name of the medication. People should also leave a phone number where clinic staff members can reach them. Callers should also state if they are having any problems with their medications. Customers should wait three full duty days after placing a renewal order before visiting the pharmacy to pick up refilled prescriptions. People picking up renewed prescriptions should follow the same medication pick-up procedures as other pharmacy customers - take a number, wait until that number is called, present identification to a pharmacy staff member at a customer service window and have a seat until called to collect a filled prescription. Customers won't receive a phone call concerning their prescription renewal if a healthcare provider is able to renew their medication. However, customers will receive a call from a member of their healthcare team if their provider is unable to renew a prescription. Sometimes healthcare providers require patients to come in for a follow-up appointment or some lab work prior to consenting to renew a script. So people are aware, each time a provider enters a prescription into the pharmacy system, including a renewal, it is considered "new" by the computer system. To ensure quality customer service, the 22nd Medical Group suggests people call in prescription renewals about a week before they are out of medication. Only customers seen by healthcare providers on base can use the renewal call-in line. People who are seen by off-base network providers will need to have their providers handwrite prescription renewals, which customers can bring into the base pharmacy and have filled. Family Practice Clinic patients should call 759-6547 for prescription refills and flight medicine patients should call 759-5117. To assist clinic customers, here are answers two a couple of commonly asked questions about prescription renewals. What's the difference between a prescription refill and a renewal? A refill is a current prescription with existing refills, which a patient calls into the pharmacy refill line and simply picks up from the pharmacy customer service window. Refills are processed daily by the pharmacy staff. However, a renewal is the renewing of a prescription for which a patient no longer has refills. Renewals are processed just like new prescriptions, which is why customers must take a number and wait in line when picking up a renewed prescription from the pharmacy. Why must I wait three duty days before picking up a renewed prescription? Clinic staff members are only able to retrieve renewal messages three times a day. They also review each patient's profile and assess the need for a prescription renewal prior to approving a renewal. This process takes time but is necessary to ensure patient safety and medication continuity.