When it comes to providing a remarkable patient experience, several axioms apply. Smile, smile, and smile again. Always, always, make eye contact. Acknowledge the patient, say their name, and compliment them on their shirt or shoes.

But prior to spring 2015, the patient experience was anything but remarkable at the Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) Pharmacy. Long waits and uncertainty were the norm, creating a prescription for angst and frustration among the throngs of patients held hostage to the pharmacy's crammed lobby, where no number of smiles, acknowledgements or clothing compliments could assuage the suffering of waiting with the hope that, maybe, just maybe, your number will be called soon.

An inability to provide patients with an idea of expected wait times and a lack of prescription drop-off services were the main culprits, according to Lt. Cmdr. Brian Ihlenfeld, who then served as the NMCSD Pharmacy Department Head.

In spring 2015, Ihlenfeld assembled a team dedicated to finding innovative solutions that would improve the patient experience and end the suffering. The team created two fixes to leverage technology, manage expectations, and increase patient satisfaction.

The first solution was implemented in spring 2015 when NMCSD began posting the expected pharmacy wait time, in real time on its website, giving patients the ability to decide on the best time to go to the pharmacy to pick up their prescriptions. The feature was later expanded to include displaying the expected wait time on several large monitors prominently displayed in the pharmacy lobby. The pharmacy staff believed displaying the wait times in the pharmacy lobby would help manage expectations by reducing a patient's angst of not knowing how long he or she would have to wait.

"At the time, we felt it was important to provide realistic expectations for our patients in terms of how long they could expect to wait," said Ihlenfeld, adding in terms of expectation management, keeping folks informed with expected wait times, online and on-site, had a positive impact on the patient experience.

But despite the success of the wait time display initiative, the pharmacy team remained unconvinced the patient experience was where it needed to be.

In December 2015, the team implemented another innovation focused on providing convenience for their patients -- a prescription drop-off service. The drop-off service would provide a patient the ability to check-in between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, drop-off a prescription, and return within as early as four hours or as late as three days to pick up their prescription.

"We understand and appreciate how valuable our patients' time is, and realize that some do not have the available time to wait due to an appointment, child care or other obligations," said Ihlenfeld. "They prefer a quick check-in to let the pharmacy staff know which prescriptions need to be processed and then to return at a later or more convenient time to pick up their prescriptions."

The effects of the new drop-off service were twofold. First, the service provided options for patients who could not wait in the lobby for their prescriptions. Second, the drop-off service gave the technicians and pharmacists the ability to prioritize the processing of prescriptions for those patients actively waiting in the lobby, leading to shortened wait times for everyone.

Both innovations netted positive reviews, adding to the pharmacy's overall customer satisfaction scores, which was evidenced by comments received via the Interactive Customer Evaluation (ICE) system -- a web-based tool used by patients to provide customer feedback: "I'm so happy that the NMCSD Drop-off Pharmacy window exists," and "4 hour drop-off was Best Idea Ever! Thank you for Improving!"

In April 2016, the pharmacy managed to decrease the turnaround time of the drop-off service from four hours to two hours, further improving the patient experience -- the result of increased efficiencies in terms of personnel, technology, and operations.

Ihlenfeld continues stressing his staff's dedication to finding ways of improving services and hearing what their patients have to say.

"The Pharmacy Department continues to strive to provide outstanding customer service to all our beneficiaries while providing the highest quality of safe prescription services," said Ihlenfeld. "We welcome feedback or comments on your pharmacy experience."

Beneficiaries interested in more information about pharmacy services at NMCSD can call (619) 532-8400.

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For more news from Naval Medical Center San Diego, visit www.navy.mil/.