JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Waiting in a traditional line for prescriptions at a military treatment facility pharmacy can take time.
Now, with “Q-Anywhere”, patients at Tidewater Market Military Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs) have the option to reduce their wait time at pharmacies for new and renewal prescriptions. Pharmacies in the Tidewater Market include those at the 633d Medical Group (Langley), McDonald Army Health Center (Eustis), and Naval Medical Center Portsmouth.
“Q-Anywhere is the activation step of the pharmacy process, replacing the first trip to the pharmacy,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Alexander C. Godwin, 633d Medical Group main pharmacy chief. “It allows you to request new [and/or] renewal prescriptions from anywhere and receive a text message after the medications are filled.”
According to Godwin, prior to Q-Anywhere, pharmacy patients would need to pull a ticket, wait to be called to the window to activate their prescription, and then wait in person until their ticket was called again, indicating their medication was ready.
“The patient texts ‘get in line’ to the number advertised by their local pharmacy,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kevin J. Keeley, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth pharmacist. “They will then receive prompts that they will need to respond to, which include Department of Defense Identification (DoD ID) numbers for [the] patients they are picking up for, and [the] pharmacy point of service they wish to utilize. At that point, they will receive a ‘Q’ ticket number via text message, and they’re officially ‘in line’ at the pharmacy.”
Keeley also said a pharmacy representative will contact a patient either via call or text for any clarifying information if there are any issues during prescription processing.
Upon initial activation, patients will receive a message saying their prescriptions are ready for pick-up. The patient can then go to their pharmacy; texting “I am here" once they arrive.This notifies the pharmacy of a patient’s arrival, prompting the pharmacy counter to call up said patient, who will then receive their prescriptions.
“The timeline is very much going to depend on the individual pharmacy and their specific workload, but [the] overall process should reduce in-lobby waits by up to 70%,” said Keeley.“The time from texting ‘get in line’ to dispensing will typically be two to three hours, and since the patient isn’t instructed to report to the pharmacy lobby until the prescriptions are ready, it is much less likely to interfere with the patient’s daily plans.”
It is important for all patients to be aware Q-Anywhere is for new and renewal prescriptions only. Prescription refills will still get activated through the original process of calling a pharmacy’s refill phone line.
For 633d Medical Group (Langley) pharmacy patients, the Q-Anywhere number for text only is (844) 866-2689. The last call for same-day activation is 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, with pick up at the main pharmacy. If a patient cannot get to the 633 MDG main pharmacy on the same day, the 633 MDG pharmacy will hold a prescription for 10 days, and the patient can just get in the pick-up line when they arrive.
For McDonald Army Health Center (Eustis) pharmacy patients, the Q-Anywhere number for text only is (833) 429-6527. The last call for same-day activation is 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is valid only on the day it is issued. A new ‘Q’ number will be needed for any prescription not picked up on the day of its activation. Q-Anywhere pick up for MCAHC is at the main pharmacy only.
For Naval Medical Center Portsmouth pharmacy patients, the Q-Anywhere number for text only is (833) 217-2199. Q-Anywhere can be activated at any point before the NMCP pharmacy closes at 4:30 p.m., Monday – Saturday. If a patient cannot get to NMCP on the same day, the NMCP pharmacy will hold filled prescriptions for 14 days. A patient will need to pull a “Return for Pick-Up” ticket during said 14-day hold window.
The Tidewater Market, established in 2021, is the nation's fifth Military Health System market, established to manage military medical treatment facilities that support the delivery of integrated, affordable, and high-quality health services for active-duty service members, retirees, Reservists and Guardsmen, and their families enrolled at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, McDonald Army Health Center, the 663d Medical Group at Joint Base Langley-Eustis , U. S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as 14 health clinics in the Tidewater region.
