Telepharmacy is a first for reservation

TWIN BUTTES A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Three Affiliated Tribes telepharmacy will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Minne-Tohe Health Center's satellite clinic in Twin Buttes.

The opening of the telepharmacy is a first for the Fort Berthold Reservation.

There will be a prayer offered by tribal elder Edwin Benson and an open house at the telepharmacy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A traditional meal will be served at noon in the Twin Buttes Memorial Building followed by a health fair.

"This is a historic day for the people of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. The telepharmacy project is a major step toward improving the quality of patient care across the Fort Berthold Reservation," said Stella Berquist, chief executive officer of the Three Affiliated Tribes Minne-Tohe Health Center at New Town. "Health care professional of the Three Affiliated Tribes have been working diligently over the past few months to make this dream a reality."

Here's how telepharmacy works:

Through the use of state-of-the-art telecommunications technology, pharmacists are able to provide pharmaceutical care to patients at a distance. A licensed pharmacist at a central pharmacy site supervises a pharmacy technician at a remote telepharmacy site through the use of video conferencing technology. The technician then prepares the prescription drug for dispensing by the pharmacist.

The Twin Buttes clinic is the main office of the telepharmacy project on Fort Berthold. Other pharmacies will be opening in Mandaree, White Shield and Parshall.

Donna Bieri, a pharmacist from Dodge who has nearly five years of experience working with telepharmacy, will be working on a permanent basis at the Twin Buttes telepharmacy. She will travel to each of the other sites at least once a month.

The pharmacies in Mandaree, White Shield and Parshall are expected to open in about four to six weeks.

The telepharmacy project is a project of the Minne-Tohe Health Center, tribal business council and Twin Buttes Segment.

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