Incirlik's pharmacy: Last line in military medical defense

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Heather Stanton
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INICRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  The 39th Medical Group pharmacy provides more than 1,400 prescriptions a month to approximately 5,000 personnel within the Incirlik community.

Everyone is served by this pharmacy, to include all active-duty personnel and family members, all Department of Defense civilians, U.S. contractors and the small retiree community, said Capt. C. J. Anderson, 39th Medical Support Squadron chief of pharmacy.

However, Incirlik's five-man pharmacy team does more than fill prescriptions all day.

"Our job is to ensure our patients are properly educated and given the medication that has been prescribed by their provider in order to maintain their health," said Tech. Sgt. Mike Woodbury, 39 MDSS assistant noncommissioned officer in charge of the pharmacy.

To do this, pharmacy personnel review the prescription order, ensuring the dosage is correct and the instructions match the dose. They can talk to the doctor if anything seems incorrect and edit anything that does need to be correct, said Sergeant Woodbury. They also help ensure patients are safe taking multiple medications.

Incirlik's pharmacy includes three enlisted pharmacy technicians and two pharmacists.

"The technicians are the ones 'in the trenches,'" said Sergeant Woodbury. "We count pills, fill prescriptions, prepare sterile intravenous solutions for surgeries and maintain our inventory to include ordering supplies, and performing daily checks on narcotics."

The pharmacists oversee all that and more.

"We are responsible for the overall safety of our patients," said Captain Anderson. "Everything that happens in the pharmacy falls back on the pharmacists. We ensure the patients medications are safe and effective, supervise the technicians, and also handle interactions between patients and their providers."

Though the same positions are open in the civilian world, military members carry more responsibility in the duty position.

"Military technicians are highly trained and highly skilled," said Captain Anderson. "Civilian technicians count pills and give them to patients, but aren't allowed to even give dose instructions."

The pharmacy plays a vital role in the Incirlik mission.

"We provide the medication to get the servicemember healthy and back to work," said Sergeant Woodbury. "Also, knowing family members are taken care of by us alleviates stress for the servicemember, allowing them to perform their duties."

Some believe the most important aspect of the pharmacy isn't the medication itself, but it is actually the service provided.

"We are the last line of defense as far as medical defense goes," said Captain Anderson. "We are the last stop for patients before they walk out the door, and they need to know they are taken care of properly and safely throughout their entire clinic visit."