Students to have call-in refill option

For all procrastinators who pop prescription pills -- life just got a little easier. \nIn its mission to become more student friendly by extending services outside of its normal 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. hours, the IU Health Center is introducing "Voice Tech," an automated prescription refill system. The service, set to go live Friday, acts as a specialized answering machine, recording a prescription code and telephone number of the patient. The convenience especially benefits procrastinating patients who remember that they need to refill a prescription after the Health Center is closed -- they'll be able to call in the prescription at their whim and pick it up in the morning. \n"If you think of your prescription at midnight, now you can call it in," said Pharmacy director Cheryl Thomas. "You don't have to wait until we're open."\nThomas compares Voice Tech to many phone order systems in place at popular drug stores like Walgreens or CVS. Voice Tech, she said, is a step in that direction. \nPreviously, students needing refills had to call the pharmacy and actually speak to a pharmacist, but Voice Tech takes away this step and allows students to spend less time waiting on the phone. The pharmacy also typically has little work early in the morning and a deluge of prescriptions to fill by mid-afternoon, so with medication refills called in at night, Thomas believes their work will be spread more evenly throughout the day. \n"It makes sense," said junior Jessica Ferri as she sat patiently waiting for her prescription to be filled at 4 p.m. on a busy afternoon in the pharmacy waiting room. "I'd use it. It'll be really helpful for after hours."\nFerri was waiting no longer than 15 minutes for her medicine, but as she sat in the room, 10 of the 12 available chairs in the area filled, with another long stream of students lined up at the window waiting to turn their prescriptions in to the pharmacist. These crowds of students are exactly what Thomas hopes Voice Tech might relieve.\nWhen patients call into the Voice Tech system by calling the pharmacy at 855-3865, they'll be directed to the pharmacy by pressing "2." They then press "1" for refills and are cued to enter their prescription number and telephone number. And that's it.\nThe system going into place Friday is just the bare bones of Voice Tech. Next semester, Voice Tech options will include a way for doctors to leave prescription information at the pharmacy, as well, allowing students with doctors out of state or in a different time zone to call at their convenience, Thomas said.\n"(Voice Tech) will be done in baby steps," Thomas said. "By Christmas, the whole system should be in place. We expect it to save people so much time."\nAnd time is precious, especially for busy students. Junior Holli Fisher admits to always needing more of it and sees the benefits of Voice Tech.\n"I procrastinate a lot. I tend to wait until the last minute to get something," said Fisher, also waiting in the Health Center for a prescription.\nLuckily for her, now prescription pills are just a phone call away.\n-- Contact health and science editor Kelly Phillips at kephilli@indiana.edu.