First drive-through pharmacy services in Taiwan

Abstract Background Taiwan has separated drug prescribing and drug dispensing services since 1997. Because of this, patients with chronic illness as well as those with diseases that have a relatively stable status may have their prescriptions refilled in nearby clinic pharmacies without having to go to hospitals. Methods Shuang-Ho Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, implemented a drive-through pharmacy service as a more convenient refilling system to provide patients in need with a more effective way to refill their prescriptions. To assess the efficacy of this new refilling system, changes in patient drug prescription behavior were compared 6 months before and 6 months after the system was deployed. Results We found an increase in the overall refilling prescription rate, with an increased use of online reservations (7.9% vs. 4.9%, p