Bennett Pharmacy offering 'drive-up' pickup of prescriptions

The idea is pretty simple in this Coronavirus COVID-19 Era: Folks who are ill shouldn’t be congregating in the same area.
So Bennett Pharmacy has come up with its version of a “drive-up window.”
“The people who are at the most high risk, where are they going to be? Here, picking up prescriptions,” pharmacist Tom Rasmussen said. “We thought this would be a way to help mitigate some of those concerns, both for our customers and ourselves. The idea is that we bring the medications to them.”
The problem for Bennett Pharmacy was it doesn’t really have any place to put a drive-through window; instead, it got creative. Last Monday night, it asked the New Hampton City Council for permission to close off parking stalls on the west side of North Chestnut Avenue, the Council agreed and by Tuesday morning, cones had been set up.
The drive-up works like this:
• Those getting prescriptions call the pharmacy at 641-394-4156 and tell employees they’d like to use the drive-up service.
• When they call, customers will indicate how they will want to pay — either by credit card or check — and their cell phone number.
• Once the pharmacy has filled the prescription, it will send a text to the customer that his or her “order is ready for pick up.”
• When the customer arrives, they enter the drive-up from the north and text the pharmacy. An employee will bring the prescription to the car.
Rasmussen said that because HIPPA regulations have been relaxed, customers do not have to sign for their medications; instead, “one of us will sign for them.”
The pharmacy is asking customers not to enter the “curbside pick-up lane” until they receive the text that their order is ready.
“We really want this to be a drive up, we bring it out and you’re on your way,” he said. “If you want to talk to a pharmacist, one of us will definitely come out and answer any questions or you may call the pharmacy.”