OneroRx’s core mission is straightforward and urgent: Restore affordable, accessible pharmacy care in places where pharmacies have closed or never existed — areas increasingly referred to as “pharmacy deserts.” Recent estimates suggest nearly 100 million Americans live without sufficient access to a nearby pharmacy, turning geographic distance into a public health risk that disproportionately affects vulnerable populations. Against this backdrop, OneroRx Pharmacy locations have reframed a deceptively simple question: How do you preserve meaningful pharmacist-patient interactions while relieving operational strain at the counter?
Closing the Access Gap With 24/7 Pickup
In 2024, OneroRx launched a strategic rollout of Pharmaself24 prescription pickup kiosks across five Midwest locations — four in Iowa and one in Wisconsin — with additional units planned. The goal was to expand access beyond traditional pharmacy hours and address barriers faced by caregivers, shift workers and rural patients whose schedules or distance make in-person pickup difficult.
Pharmaself24 is a secure, self-service pickup solution widely adopted in Europe. It stores completed, pharmacist-verified prescriptions for retrieval at any time. Once an order is ready, patients receive a unique PIN via text, which they enter at the kiosk to retrieve their medication — no lines and no waiting.
Why Pickup Needs to Evolve
Community pharmacies are navigating a perfect storm: rising prescription volumes, persistent staffing shortages and consumer expectations shaped by frictionless retail experiences. Traditional pickup counters can become bottlenecks at peak times, pulling pharmacists and technicians away from higher-value clinical work.
For OneroRx, automated, unattended pickup emerged as a practical way to streamline low-complexity transactions without sacrificing personalized care. The objective was not to replace staff but to create breathing room so pharmacists could refocus on clinical services and patient counseling.
Implementation Playbook: Standardize, Train, Communicate
OneroRx partnered with Lans-worth Pharma SelfServe to ensure the kiosks integrated smoothly with existing pharmacy systems and daily routines. Deployment focused on three pillars:
• Training and confidence: Equip staff to use and support the solution.
• Workflow alignment: Standardize processes across locations to simplify onboarding.
• Patient communication: Clearly explain how and when to use the kiosk, especially for after-hours access.
From first viewing the system at a trade show in May 2024, OneroRx moved to its first live installation within seven months. “Our ability to be innovative, keeping the patient experience as a priority and working in an environment with little or no red tape, keeps us on the leading edge,” said Joseph Dunham II, chairman and chief executive officer of OneroRx.
Measurable Goals and Early Momentum
OneroRx’s initial goals for Pharmaself24 were clear:
• Relieve congestion during peak pickup times.
• Extend access from limited weekday hours to 24/7 availability.
• Support patient growth and retention through added convenience.
While long-term metrics are still being evaluated, OneroRx reports steady month-over-month growth in kiosk utilization.
Operational Impact: More Time for Care
Early results point to smoother counters and fewer workflow disruptions. By automating routine pickup transactions, pharmacists experienced fewer interruptions. Technicians and front-end staff benefited from reduced congestion and a more even distribution of tasks throughout the day.
Initial staff concerns about automation were quickly addressed once the kiosks went live. Teams saw that unattended pickup absorbed only the simplest transactions.
Patient Adoption and Convenience
Patient feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Users frequently cite 24/7 access and increased privacy as key benefits. Over time, kiosk pickup has become a natural extension of how patients interact with the pharmacy.
Guardrails and the Next Iteration
Safety and compliance remain central. Prescriptions requiring refrigeration or classified as controlled substances continue to be dispensed in person, and all medications must be paid for before being loaded into the kiosk. OneroRx plans to incorporate a Pharmaself24 model with integrated refrigeration in an upcoming installation.
Lessons From Scaling
Rolling out the kiosks in multiple markets highlighted several key practices:
• Communicate early and often with staff.
• Standardize processes to ensure reliability and reduce training time.
• Review performance regularly and adjust quickly when needed.
Rolling out across multiple locations reinforced several best practices: overcommunicating with staff, standardizing workflows, and continuously evaluating performance and feedback. Most importantly, success came from treating unattended pickup as part of the operating model — not a stand-alone feature.
The Bigger Picture
As pharmacy closures continue and staffing pressures persist, solutions that rebalance access, efficiency and personalization are becoming essential. “Finding new ways to provide community pharmacy solutions to patients 10 miles or more from a pharmacist is a growing problem,” said Dunham. “We have witnessed more pharmacy closings across the country, often forcing patients to drive long distances for prescriptions.”
By embracing technology that expands access and gives clinicians time back for human-centered care, OneroRx is positioning community pharmacy to meet patients where they are.
OneroRx
Key Executive
Joseph Dunham II, President & CEO
Headquarters
2929 Westown Parkway, Suite 100
West Des Moines, Iowa 50266
Phone: (800) 601-9624
Website: onerorx.com
Trade class — Drug Chain
Full-Year Results*
Pharmacy sales — $380 million**
Overall sales — $400 million**
Number of pharmacies — 66
Number of states operating — 7
*Medicap is a franchise owned by Cardinal Health. OneroRx is a franchisee
and has the name and branding rights to use Medicap in certain markets.
**CDR estimate.
