Meijer opens pharmacy in Michigan hospital

A new in-hospital Meijer pharmacy will be used to review medications with patients before discharge and to enroll patients in the retailer’s adherence programs.

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer, which operates 222 stores, opened the full-service pharmacy last week at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids. In addition to prescriptions, the pharmacy carries a selection of the top selling OTCs, beauty products, cosmetics, and baby products.

Meijer pharmacyMeijer is the latest in a series of retailers that have opened in-hospital pharmacies this year. Richmond University Medical Center, Staten Island, N.Y., recently opened the first fully-functioning retail pharmacy in a hospital in the area.  

“We believe this is a growing trend in which hospitals would like to see the level of their readmissions decrease, therefore, leading to a healthier community,” Nat Love, vice president of Meijer Pharmacy, told Drug Topics. “An added benefit is the convenience for their employees to get their prescriptions filled either where they work or near their home.”

While Meijer and Spectrum executives expect some local residents to use the pharmacy, they expect it to primarily be used by hospital patients and staff. “This new pharmacy will make it more convenient in so many ways for our patients, visitors, and employees,” said Christina Freese-Decker, president of Spectrum Health Hospital Group.

The Meijer pharmacy employs five full-time and part-time pharmacists, along with 10 pharmacy technicians.

The pharmacy will participate in the Meijer free prescription program that began in October, 2006 with free antibiotics, and has since incorporated prenatal vitamins, Metformin, and a generic substitute for Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium).

The Spectrum Health Hospital Group is comprised of 12 hospitals, 183 ambulatory and service sites, and more than 3,100 physicians and advanced practice providers, including 1,200 members of the Spectrum Health Medical Group.