Atracare adding vending dispenser for prescriptions
Getting prescriptions from a vending machine? It's possible. And, in fact, it's revolutionizing patient care across the nation.
Atracare will become the first healthcare facility in the state to offer a vending machine dispenser prescription service to its patients in Lewes and Ocean View.
InstyMeds, based in Minnesota, has dispensers on three continents and has dispensed more than 4 million prescriptions since it started operations in 2001.
Atracare CEO Will Albanese, co-founder with his wife Dr. Lindsay Albanese, said the machine will dispense up to 102 of the most common prescriptions, such as amoxicillin, penicillin, augmentin, Benadryl and Tylenol. There will be many children's medications available as well.
He said the dispenser will not only save time for patients waiting in lines at local pharmacies, it will also enable patients to obtain prescriptions as soon as an appointment is over.
Patients will receive a voucher to use the machine, which does not accept insurance.
“But all of the drugs will be reasonably priced with most from $15 to $30,” Will said.
He said a survey of Atracare’s patients showed they are willing to pay a little more for prescriptions than spend time waiting at a pharmacy.
“Time is an important factor,” he said.
A phone will be available to assist patients if they have questions.
“Why is so hard to help people?” asked Lindsay. “This will provide quick access to met our patients’ needs.”
She predicted more and more healthcare facilities will start using the InstyMeds system.
“If you are sick, you want your medications now and not tomorrow,” she said.
“This way they can feel better quicker. We are making medicine easy and accessible,” added Will. “And with kids, it's important to get their antibiotics as soon as possible.”
Because this is new technology in Delaware, it required Delaware Board of Pharmacy approval.
The dispenser should be available to patients in October. They will also purchase their drugs from the company in Minnesota.
The couple said the dispenser is an answer to issues patients have been experiencing once they leave the practice to get their prescriptions filled at a local pharmacy.
“It's because of wait times, shortages of pharmacy staff and, in particular, a shortage of antibiotics,” Will said.
Coming full circle
Atracare's CEO has come full circle. The 2002 Cape Henlopen High School graduate started his healthcare career as a pharmacist at Happy Harry's in Newark, and he was also a pharmacist at Beebe Healthcare, where he and his wife worked.
The couple met as medical students at the University of Maryland.
The couple knew there was better way to offer medicine, so they formed their own company called Aspira in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first year they administered 40,000 COVID tests.
The company changed its name to Atracare and opened a mental health clinic on Savannah Road in Lewes and walk-in care facility in Ocean View.
Construction will soon start on the company’s most ambitious project to date. Plantation Medical Center will be a 40,000-square-foot healthcare campus on Plantation Road between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.
About Atracare
The Lewes Atracare test-and-treat clinic, 18068 Coastal Hwy., offers telemedicine, urgent walk-in care, primary care and pediatrics. The Ocean View facility, 90 Atlantic Ave., offers urgent walk-in services.
The walk-in clinic is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week; primary care hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; and pediatrics hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, go to atracare.com.
