New eCARE Pharmacy telemedicine program launching soon

The vast distances of rural Montana have not dissuaded health care providers from doing their best to protect patient access to care.

Located in Forsyth, (population 1,647 in the 2020 census) Rosebud Health Care Center (RHCC) is launching a new pharmacy service that allows health care providers to deliver medications to patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Fueled by a charitable grant, the eCARE Pharmacy telemedicine program allows RHCC and other facilities share the services of a professional pharmacist at a fraction of what it would cost each facility to have its own 24/7 pharmacist.

The shared pharmacist consults online with medical professionals at RHCC. Prescriptive medications for area residents are then dispensed through OmniCell, an automated medication dispensing system that enables smarter and safer medication management.

The new round-the-clock availability of needed medications for rural residents is just one example of innovative projects that use information technologies to connect rural patients to emergency medical care, bring the latest medical therapies to patients in remote areas, and provide state-of-the-art training for rural hospitals and EMS personnel.