Food City has introduced an RX Pickup Station inside its Gatlinburg, Tennessee, store. The kiosk is the first of its kind in a retail location in the state and operates through a pilot program with the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy.
Gatlinburg has no pharmacy locations. The pilot program restores pharmacy services to the area by enabling Food City to fill prescriptions at its Pigeon Forge pharmacy and deliver them to the Gatlinburg pickup station.
“I am excited that Food City Pharmacy is able to provide this service for the residents of Gatlinburg and the surrounding areas,” said Mickey Blazer, EVP of pharmacy and fuel operations for Food City.
“I appreciate the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy for allowing us to be a part of this pilot program which will enable us to provide a convenient way for patients to access pharmacy services in an area that otherwise has none.”
The RX Pickup Station is a kiosk system designed by iLocalBox. It provides a secure HIPAA-compliant experience for pharmacy patients.
Patients can call the Pigeon Forge Food City Pharmacy to request prescription pickup at the Gatlinburg kiosk. Prescriptions are filled at the Pigeon Forge location and patient counseling is provided by phone. Orders received by 1 p.m. EDT are delivered the same day by a registered pharmacy technician who loads them into the pickup station.
Patients receive a text notification with a secure code to enter at the kiosk. They can sign for prescriptions and submit payment at the station. The kiosk is equipped with a phone and video monitor for contacting the Pigeon Forge pharmacy as needed.
Federally controlled substances, refrigerated items and reconstituted products are not accepted through the kiosk.
K-VA-T Food Stores, Food City’s parent company, is headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia. The company operates 163 retail outlets including 120 pharmacies throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia and Alabama.
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