NEWARK, Calif. – Queue, a company developing autonomous pharmacy technology, has unveiled a robotic pharmacy kiosk designed for community and retail pharmacies, as well as urgent care centers and outpatient clinics.
The kiosk automates the prescription fulfillment process, allowing patients to receive medications in approximately 30 seconds. After a healthcare provider submits a prescription, the patient receives a pickup code. The kiosk fills, verifies and labels the prescription, while Queue’s software manages insurance claims and payment processing. Patients retrieve their medication by scanning the code at the kiosk.
“Where you live shouldn’t determine whether you can get your medicine,” said Nick Desai, CEO and co-founder of Queue. “Our goal is to put medicine at the point of care and give pharmacists their time back for patients.”
The launch comes as automated pharmacy dispensing gains momentum across healthcare. Recent developments include recognition of Amazon’s pharmacy kiosk as one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026 and the adoption of medication dispensing kiosks by healthcare systems such as Cleveland Clinic. Queue said its platform is designed to serve a broader range of pharmacies and care settings beyond a single provider network.
Queue’s stated mission is to improve medication access, particularly in underserved communities, while allowing pharmacists to spend more time providing patient care. According to research published through the National Institutes of Health, nearly 18% of Americans live in pharmacy deserts.
Designed for Speed and Scalability
According to Queue, the kiosk can stock up to 340 medications using wholesale bottles, boxed prescriptions and unit-of-use products. The system is capable of filling thousands of prescriptions and uses machine vision technology to verify every pill before dispensing.
Additional features include:
- Prescription fulfillment in about 30 seconds
- Installation in less than one day
- Compatibility with a wide range of care sites without requiring affiliation with a specific provider network
- No membership fees for patients
- Software-based insurance and payment processing with dual-stage verification
- Fully auditable chain-of-custody tracking from medication bottle to patient vial
- Tamper-resistant security and monitoring systems
- Access to pharmacists via phone or text
“Pharmacy has an infrastructure problem,” said Will Coffield of Riot Ventures, an investor in Queue. “While the industry has been forced to work around labor shortages, store closures and broken unit economics, Queue has taken a fundamentally different approach by automating the physical fulfillment layer itself.”
Expanding Access to Medication
Queue said the kiosk is intended to support a variety of pharmacy and healthcare use cases. Community pharmacies can use the technology to extend their reach without building additional brick-and-mortar locations. Retail pharmacies can automate prescription filling and verification processes, while urgent care and outpatient clinics can dispense medications directly to patients before they leave the facility.
The company plans to showcase the kiosk during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Jan. 11-14. Media representatives can arrange interviews with Desai or request live demonstrations by contacting Queue’s public relations team at PRforQueue@bospar.com.
