U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. David Miller U.S. Air Force Capt. Sang Ngo, 99th Medical Support Squadron outpatient pharmacy chief, loads the new trans trax system with a prescription on Aug. 7, 2012, at the satellite pharmacy at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The satellite pharmacy opened the drive-thru on Aug. 6, 2012, after a $100,000 upgrade.
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — The 99th Medical Support Squadron Satellite Pharmacy reopened Aug. 6 after improvements to its three-lane drive-thru were finished.
The upgrade cost $100,000 and involved 300 man hours to enhance the Trans Trax, the system used to transfer items between the pharmacy and the drive-thru.
The new Trans Trax system has been specifically designed to transfer larger prescriptions and is expected to ease visits, while cutting visit time in half, because customers are no longer restricted to which lane they use to the size of their prescriptions.
Lt Col. Christina Zotto, 99th MDSS Satellite Pharmacy Flight commander, said the upgrades should better customer experiences because customers don’t even need to leave their vehicles to receive good service.
Capt. Daniel Lim, 99th MDSS Satellite Pharmacy chief, said the drive-thru service is a great tool for picking up prescriptions because it allows patrons to avoid long lines inside the building.
The Trans Trax upgrade is just one of many ongoing improvements to the pharmacy. The upgrade ties in with the earlier two lane expansion of the drive-thru, the lane expansion costing $600,000 alone.
Staff are currently planning on moving pharmacists closer to the drive-thru windows for customer convenience and purchasing new furniture.
There are around 130 people that work for both the hospital and satellite pharmacies and 54 are volunteers.
The satellite pharmacy is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and the hospital pharmacy is open 24/7.
