VA Emergency Pharmacy Services
Since 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Emergency Pharmacy Service has maintained a fleet of Mobile Pharmacy vehicles to assist Veterans, VA staff, as well as civilians during major emergencies. The Mobile Pharmacy units are strategically prepositioned around the country to facilitate deployment if needed. In the event of a disaster (natural or manmade), these self-contained vehicles would be driven to the deployment site and within a few hours function as an outpatient pharmacy capable of delivering life-saving pharmaceuticals to Veterans.
Standard equipment on all the Mobile Pharmacies is a satellite dish, generator, teleconference and fax capability, voice over Internet Protocol (IP), two way radios, laptop computers along with a prescription label printer. Upon deployment, the satellite dish would provide secured connectivity to the VA health care network. Volunteer pharmacists and pharmacy technicians recruited from the Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) would be stationed at the vehicles for a two week rotation. Emphasis would be placed on filling prescriptions for urgent and life threatening conditions. Non urgent medication orders would be transmitted to the VA Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) for filling and mailed to the Veteran or if necessary back to the Mobile Pharmacy Unit.
Supporting the Mobile Pharmacy vehicles at the deployment site would be a supply trailer towed by a pick-up truck. The supply trailer transports additional items such as medications, Meal Ready to Eat (MREs), potable water, information technology equipment and miscellaneous supplies.
