Kaiser Pharmacies Offer Text Message Notification Service

Kaiser on Maui, photo by Wendy Osher.

Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i members can now receive text messages from all in-network outpatient pharmacies with the healthcare provider’s new Rx Notifier program. The service notifies patients via text message when their prescription is ready to be picked.

Members with Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile wireless carriers are eligible to receive notifications through Rx Notifier. Those who chose to use the service can receive all future pharmacy notifications via text or take advantage of the program’s capabilities as needed.

The feature is built into Kaiser’s ePIMS, a secure electronic pharmacy information system. The service is completely confidential and no medical or prescription information is included in the message.

Kaiser Permanente’s Waipio pharmacy was the first in the region to test the new system in November, with nearly 200 members signing up during the first week.

“With the Rx Notifier program, we’re providing our members efficient and convenient pharmacy services in today’s digital world,” said Barbara Kashiwabara, R.Ph., Pharm.D., executive director of pharmacy services for Kaiser Permanente Hawaii. “Our members have access to a variety of methods—online, phone, mail and in-person pharmacy services—to manage the medications that keep them in good health.”

The Rx Notifier program launch follows an October announcement naming Moanalua Medical Center to US News and World Report’s Most Connected Hospitals of 2015–16, the only Hawai‘i hospital to make the list. Moanalua Medical Center is one of 159 health care facilities in the nation that utilizes technological innovations—including electronic medical records and data sharing—for better clinical connectedness, patient engagement and patient safety.

Kaiser Permanente continues to accelerate the adoption of digital healthcare in the state, most notably, a digital membership card feature that allows members to check in for appointments, pick up prescriptions and provide membership information directly from their smartphones.

Other innovations include the “medical selfie” feature, which allows patients to send photos of their medical problems to their physicians, teledermatology, virtual consults and remote cardiac monitoring.

Members also have access to Kaiser Permanente’s fully integrated and secure electronic member system, My Health Manager on kp.org, to view lab and X-ray results, refill prescriptions, schedule appointments and email physicians.