Hub of the Kortiz Clinic: The 14th MDSS pharmacy

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Keith Holcomb
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Each year 109,000 prescriptions are written for over 18,000 beneficiaries, and each week roughly 1,500 patients seen by the 14th Medical Support Squadrons pharmacy technicians.

The pharmacy works diligently to make sure every prescription is filed and filled correctly to the very last pill, allowing the 14th Medical Group to keep Airmen, family members and retirees healthy as possible while completing the mission.

“We also maintain all the medication throughout the Kortiz Clinic so each unit can provide in-clinic service,” said Maj. Steven Osakue Jr., 14th MDSS Diagnostics and Therapeutics Flight commander. “We also have a cough-and-cold program where we are able to give medication to help with common cold symptoms.”

Sometimes pilots will have an ailment or illness that needs to be treated, and Osakue said, “That’s where we come in and make sure they are prescribed the right medications so they can get back into the cockpit.”

With a small team working with so many patients each week, every extra minute counts, so the 14th MDSS implemented kiosks across the medical group so patients can scan their identification cards and let the pharmacists know who is on their way to pick up a prescription.

“When you sign into the kiosk it will ask for your phone number,” said Staff Sgt. Joanna Sanchez, NCO in-charge of pharmacy services. “This feature is so you can receive a text message when your prescription is ready. Right now it only works for people waiting on a prescription, but we are working on getting the system to text those with refills or special orders.”

Some new technological improvements are not always welcome at first by customers, but Osakue and Sanchez noted the new kiosks are the first of several new improvements coming to the 14th MDSS to improve customer quality of life.

They are projected to implement a system allowing the kiosk to work with a program that will show the prescriptions or medications available and see what their refills are before meeting with a pharmacist.

“A system like that would give us a good head start,” Osakue said “Before they would be called up we could potentially have their medications ready.”

The pharmacy had won a 14th Medical Groups innovation team of the quarter, an award showing how proactive and creative the team is when finding the best ways to serve their friends, family, and fellow Airmen.

Both Osakue and Sanchez had stories from their previous duty locations that helped them enjoy their jobs to this day. It was unanimous their care for patients drives them and their Airmen to continue working for the 14th MDSS pharmacy and helping.

“We reach each clinic and touch almost every patient with our prescriptions,” Osakue said. “You can walk past every unit in the medical group, but almost anytime there’s something wrong with you, we’ll have something to give you in order to help.”