Many TCU students do not know that refilling prescriptions at the campus pharmacy can be as easy as clicking a mouse. The TCU Pharmacy provides patients with an online option to make the process of getting their medication a little easier.

Since 2008, the TCU pharmacy has given information about the pharmacy and gave users the chance to ask questions online. Patients can refill prescriptions through an online form, e-mail, phone or in the pharmacy.

“Students are on computers all the time,” pharmacist Frank Calhoon said. “It just made it more convenient with easier access and availability.”

Students usually used the website to fill their prescriptions, he said.

The traffic on the site varies with the time of year, but Calhoon said up to 100 people a day look at the website.

Prescription refills requested online at night normally are done by noon the next day. Patients receive an e-mail saying the prescription is ready to be picked up, Calhoon said.

The online refills would be helpful for students with ongoing prescriptions, senior accounting and finance double major Andrew Monk said.

“If I have a chance, I always use the TCU pharmacy,” Monk said. “I actually might use that for my allergy prescription now that I know [about it].”

The university’s pharmacy website was more organized than other pharmacy websites, junior chemistry major Abby Moore said.

“I just thought it was cool that you could refill prescriptions online,” she said. “I didn’t know they had that.”

CVS or Walgreens usually filled prescriptions from TrinityXpressMed Medical Center after an illness, Moore said. TrinityXpressMed had a shorter waiting period compared to the health center.

One drawback of the online pharmacy is not having person-to-person interaction with their patients like the university pharmacy, Calhoon said.

“Building relationships and personal contact with patients is a large part of our pharmacy,” Calhoon said. “I’m not a big proponent of online pharmacies because there’s no contact with anybody. There’s not a personal touch to it,” 

The university pharmacy does not yet have a mobile application like some outside competitors do.

Students looking for a mobile application can use Walgreens Mobile, which is a free application that includes a pharmacy feature, according to their website.

Customers can refill prescriptions from previous account history or by sending a photo of the prescription barcode. The application is available for the iPhone and Androids.

Walgreens patients can also choose to have a text message alert them when their prescriptions are available, according to the website.

CVS/pharmacy patients use a similar application, which includes a “Rapid Refills” feature. Customers type their store and prescription number to start the refill process.

“TCU has tried to be technologically advanced, and I could see them having a pharmacy application along with their current TCU application,” Monk said.

The site is updated at least once a year to change hours of operations, Calhoon said. A feature to add or update insurance also debuted recently on the website, he said.

“We are always open to improvement suggestions and would like to have feedback from students,” Calhoon said.