Open house set for UHS pharmacy in Summit Building                                                                                                                                    

The new UHS Retail Pharmacy, Summit Building, Binghamton General, will hold an open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Tuesday, July 16. The pharmacy is on the first floor of the Summit Building, at 33 Mitchell Ave., across from UHS Binghamton General Hospital. The open house will be an opportunity for the public and the UHS family to meet the Pharmacy team and learn about the services at the new retail location on Binghamton’s South Side. There will be refreshments and giveaways. No need to RSVP – just drop in! 

Patient education is an important part of the new facility’s mission.  It is provided by pharmacy professionals in the suite’s private consultation room. 

"One of our goals is to keep patients out of the emergency room,” said William Waldron, director of Pharmacy Community Practice at UHS.  “A top reason for readmissions to the hospital is a lack of knowledge about medications. Pharmacist-supervised drug reconciliation and patient education play a huge role in medication compliance and patient success.” 

The new, full-service pharmacy accepts prescriptions from any provider and is open to UHS patients and the general public.  Standard medications are available, as well as specialty pharmacy items, such as certain kinds of expensive, limited-distribution drugs used by patients dealing with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, HIV, cancer, hepatitis C or rheumatoid arthritis.  In addition, for one-stop-shopping convenience, it stocks the top 100 most-requested over-the-counter items, so patrons can pick up cough drops, aspirin or other similar products at the same time they come in for a prescription medication.

The new location brings to five the number of UHS retail pharmacy sites.  The others are at UHS Vestal, UHS Endicott, UHS Wilson Place and UHS Delaware Valley Hospital.

Another feature of the UHS Retail Pharmacy, Summit Building, Binghamton General, is the dispensing of medications through the use of SmartCabinets, a system manufactured by the Johnson City-based company Innovation. The cabinets provide counting accuracy, prevent unauthorized access, eliminate cross-contamination and prevent dispensing of expired medications.

UHS is a locally owned, not-for-profit hospital and healthcare system serving Greater Binghamton and surrounding counties. Founded in 1981, UHS provides a full range of medical, surgical, rehabilitative and long-term care services throughout New York’s Southern Tier. Follow the latest UHS news and more at nyuhs.org and on Facebook—facebook.com/uhshospitals and Twitter—twitter.