Publix Pharmacy and Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) have announced a collaboration to expand health care services for residents of Beaufort County.
The agreement includes in-hospital delivery of patient prescriptions from a nearby Publix, as well as in-store telehealth centers at two Publix locations.
“Patients are looking for more convenient access to health care, whether it’s treatment for non-emergency medical conditions or easier transitions from hospital to home,” Publix Vice President of Pharmacy Dain Rusk said in a release. “This collaboration with Beaufort Memorial Hospital will provide residents of the Beaufort community with a medical care option where they shop and eliminate an extra errand for patients leaving the hospital.”
“We’re excited about this collaboration to expand access to care in the Lowcountry and to provide a direct prescription service to patients leaving the hospital,” Beaufort Memorial President and CEO Russell Baxley said in a release. “Our mission is to improve the health of our community and offering walk-in care through Publix Pharmacy provides a unique way to do just that. It’s another option for patients who need care when and where it is most convenient for them.”
As part of the collaboration, patients discharged from BMH can choose to have medications that are prescribed during their stay delivered to their room prior to leaving the hospital. The Publix Pharmacy at store 1463 in Beaufort will fill the prescriptions and a Publix associate will deliver them to the hospital room. Any payments can be made upon delivery.
In addition, Publix will install telehealth centers to provide non-emergency medical care at store 1463 in Beaufort and store 1205 in Bluffton. Powered by the BMH Care Anywhere online virtual care service, each telehealth center will have a private room with teleconferencing and medical diagnostic equipment, including stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, high-definition cameras and other tools necessary for common diagnoses.
The telehealth sites will allow patients to speak directly with a board-certified provider via video conferencing technology. The provider can direct the patient to use the available diagnostic tools in order to make a diagnosis and write any necessary prescriptions.
Publix Pharmacy support staff will be available to assist patients, if needed. Visits will be $59 and will not require an appointment. The telehealth centers will open later this year.
For more information, visit BeaufortMemorial.org/PublixWalkInCare.
