June 5,2015-
“It is a remarkable fact that 45% of patients being discharged from the hospital with prescriptions for medications do not have them filled!” – KD CEO Lindsay Mann
Kaweah Delta plans to open a retail pharmacy on the ground floor of the 202 W. Willow building at Willow and Locust – east of the hospital. The lease of space at the 5-story building would be the 3rd space leased in the privately-owned building. Already there is a new KD Family Practice Medical Clinic on the 5th floor and a neurosurgical clinic that is under construction and is expected to open in September 2015. Currently, the hospital’s nuerosurgery group is seeing patients at 202 W. Willow, Suite 103.
As far as the new pharmacy “we hope to open by fall of 2016” says CEO Lindsay Mann with an emphasis at the drug store on outpatient care to allow newly discharged hospital patients to conveniently get their RX needs filled. Besides discharged patients the pharmacy would be open the the public and close to the hospital’s ER.
The goal of the service is to to reduce readmission to the hospital by patients who fail to take their meds after leaving the hospital.
“It is a remarkable fact that 45% of patients being discharged from the hospital with prescriptions for medications do not have them filled! This, of course, leads to further medical problems and often return visits to the Emergency Department and the re-admissions to the hospital.”
“The Kaweah Delta Outpatient Pharmacy will help address this significant problem and also provide a much more convenient way for our patients to have their medication needs met prior to leaving our emergency or inpatient services.“