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Title: JPS pharmacy fix under way Source: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Publication date: 2000-05-06

FORT WORTH - The long waiting lines caused by a computer software glitch at JPS Health Network's central pharmacy probably won't be eliminated until late next week, a network official said yesterday. By then, the pharmacy should be meeting its goal of filling prescriptions for indigent patients within an hour, Chief Operating Officer Ron Stutes said.

"We want to make sure people are getting what they need to get in a timely fashion," he said.

Officials have blamed a frustrating software problem, which they said was repaired April 27, for the recent crowds at the new pharmacy, 600 W. Rosedale St. Several customer service measures were added this week as staff members try to catch up, Stutes said.

But Tarrant County Commissioner Dionne Bagsby, who plans to quiz JPS officials at Tuesday's Commissioners Court meeting, wants to know why customers weren't helped sooner.

"The patients shouldn't be the victim of our technology," Bagsby said.

In addition to questions about the pharmacy, JPS officials will also be asked to explain why they didn't tell commissioners that a $2.77 million renovation of the labor and delivery unit was running $850,000 over budget.

Commissioner Glen Whitley reprimanded the hospital's staff last month for failing to comply with a 1998 policy that requires Commissioners Court approval for construction changes that run at least 10 percent over the original projected cost.

The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. on the fifth floor of the County Administration Building, 100 E. Weatherford St.

Nearly 23,000 people who use the county's indigent health care program, as well as about 4,600 employees and their families, now get their medications filled through the West Rosedale central pharmacy.

The pharmacy, which opened Dec. 6, was designed to save at least $800,000 annually by centralizing outpatient drug supplies previously filled at John Peter Smith Hospital and four outlying neighborhood health centers.

Since the central pharmacy opened, 342 complaints have been filed about medication problems, waiting, communication and other issues, according to JPS records. Nearly 60 percent of the complaints were filed last month or in December.

JPS spokeswoman Drenda Witt said she could not immediately provide the details of each complaint because they would take several days to print out.

That first month of operation, officials say, there were some start-up computer problems, as well as customer frustrations over the lack of a bathroom or water fountain. Both have since been added.

Several JPS board members and county commissioners say they remain committed to the JPS network's high-tech approach, which fills an average of 45,000 prescriptions monthly through an automated pharmacy system.

"I think the concept of the central pharmacy is the way to go and the wave of the future," board member Morton Minton said.

Commissioner J.D. Johnson said JPS officials have assured him that they are doing their best to resolve the backlog.

It took nearly three weeks to resolve the software problem, said Jack Mayberry, the network's pharmacy services director. Meanwhile, the medication backlog snowballed, he said.

A third shift, devoted to processing medications after hours, may be added as soon as next week, Stutes said.

On Wednesday, a nurse began working in the pharmacy's lobby to help patients.

"What we are trying to do is thin out the lobby so we can take care of the critical needs," Mayberry said.

Certain medications, such as those for diabetes, heart problems and psychiatric conditions, are generally on the critical list, Mayberry said.

But medication for gout is not, said John Hejl, a Hurst resident who was asked this week to return in a couple of days to pick up his sister's medication. Gout is a condition that can cause painful swelling in the joints.

"If you need your medication, you don't need it three days from now, you need it today," Hejl said.

Charlotte Huff, (817) 390-7689 huff@star-telegram.com

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