Pharmacy
Mission
The Pharmacy’s mission is to support all beneficiaries including Active Duty, and their family members, Reservist and civilian prescriptions by evaluating prescriptions written by your provider to ensure adheres to evidence-based medicine and the laws and regulations that govern DoD Pharmacies while providing outstanding customer service.
ACTIVATE YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS FROM ANYWHERE
**NEW SERVICE**
You can now tell the pharmacy to start filling your medications from anywhere you have internet access or cellular data. A new service called QAnywhere is available and can be used by anyone and can be used to process New Prescriptions, Renewals, and Refills. In most cases, you can have your prescriptions ready on the same day! The only information you will need is the DoD ID of the patient needing prescriptions and the names of the medications needing filled.
Helpful Hints:
1. Be Specific with the medications needed – to ensure your safety and that you get the right medications it is best to tell us the names or prescription numbers of everything you need filled. When prompted, you will be asked for the medications you need filled. This is your only opportunity to communicate with us what you need. We will fill all new/renewal prescriptions written in the last 14 days but can’t assume any refills.
2. Leave the web page open – As your prescriptions work through the filling you will receive status updates. If we have any problems processing your prescriptions, we will continue to process the items that the system will allow, but you will receive a notification to call the pharmacy for further guidance.
3. There is no need to pull a ticket from the Kiosk until you receive the “Your prescription is ready to be picked up message”. Once you receive that message, please go to the kiosk and pull a “Return to Pharmacy” ticket.
MHS Genesis at NH Rota
Effective 23 September 2023, NH Rota Pharmacy will transition to MHS Genesis. Expect delays for the first several weeks after implementation. To avoid long waits, the pharmacy team highly encourages you to fill your maintenance medications prior to 23 September. With the Genesis adoption there will also be changes to the formulary. There will be items that we haven’t carried in the past as well as some items that have historically been carried, that may no longer be filled here (mostly OTC items). The last major change is the switch to enforcing Prior Authorization and the medical necessity forms as required by the Defense Health Agency (DHA) on certain formulary and non-formulary medications.
How is NH Rota Pharmacy different from other pharmacies.
1. Supplies. The lead time to order a medication is significantly longer than it is CONUS. As such, NH Rota Pharmacy may not be able to always give you a 90-day supply of every medication, or the pharmacy may need to call your doctor to find a different medication that will meet your needs.
2. NH Rota does not fill medications until you “Activate” your prescription. This means you must come to or call the pharmacy to initiate the filling process. If your provider tells you your prescription is ready, that means they have written it, it does not mean the prescription has been filled.
3. Transferring medications. We are authorized to transfer medications from other DoD Pharmacies; however, this requires the 2-pharmacy staffs to communicate via phone or electronically. Due to the time zone difference, transferring medications from CONUS or IndoPacom will likely be delayed or take as long as 5 business days.
Permanent Change of Station
1. Prior to PCSing to Rota Spain, it is highly encouraged to arrive with 2-3 months' worth of medications to supply you until you are in Spain and can get established with a provider here.
2. Ensure that medications are not accidentally included in your Household Good Packout.
Terms and Definitions:
The Pharmacy uses the following words when discussing our daily operations.
1. Activate – This is the first step in processing a prescription. It requires communicating with a pharmacy staff member to initiate the filling of your prescription.
2. Renewal – this is when you provider writes a new prescription for a medication that you have been taking, either because you used all the fills or because the prescription expired.
3. New RX – This can include a renewal, but it is generally when you are prescribed a new medication that you have never taken, or haven taken for a long time.
4. Refill – This is an existing prescription that has an established prescription number. It can be called in using the automated system.
5. CII (C2) – this is the most regulated type of medication we fill. It requires several layers of checks and balances, and you can assume it will double the prescription processing time.
6. Narcotic – In general this refers to opioid prescriptions, however many pharmacies have expanded its use to include all controlled substances.
7. Prior Authorization – This is an extra step that the Defense Health Agency is making pharmacies and providers complete on some medications to ensure that your medication is the safest and cost-effective treatment option for you and the government.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. When can I renew my prescription. For non-controlled prescriptions this is set once you have used 70% of the supply you are given, this is 27 days early for a 90-day supply or 9 days early for a 30-day supply. If you need an early fill for any reason, please communicate this with the pharmacy staff when you are activating your prescription.
2. How long does it take to fill a prescription. If everything goes smoothly, there are no interactions, the doctor was clear on the prescription, and there is no line in front of you a prescription can be filled in less than 5 minutes. However, medications are complex, the more medications you are on the longer it takes to ensure there are no potentially dangerous interactions, the dose is correct, the refills are correct, there are no dangerous allergies. If we need to communicate with your provider, we cannot predict how long it will take.
3. Can I go and come back after activating my prescription. Yes! We will fill your prescription and keep it on our shelf for 10 business days (14 calendar days) and then we will return it to stock, which means you will have to start the process over again.
4. What can I do to minimize my time in the pharmacy? It is important for both your wait time and your safety if you know what medications you need and come with a list.
5. Why am I asked for my name and birthday at each step? We verify 2 patient identifiers every time we interact with you to ensure that we are speaking with the right person, it enhances your safety and minimizes the risk of medication errors.
6. What form of ID is required to pick up prescriptions for myself? If you are picking up a prescription for yourself you need 1 form of government issued ID, preferably with a photo, including but not limited to: CAC, passport, state driver's license, TIE, etc.
7. What ID is required to pick up for someone else. To pick up items for someone else you need a copy of their ID or the actual ID, same requirement as #6. You also need to know what you are picking up; this prevents the Pharmacy from divulging medical information to a person who is not supposed to know. Minor children are required to have an ID once they turn 10 years old. Until then, a parent's ID will suffice.