ARTHUR (AP) - The days of walking down to the general store for prescription drugs are returning to rural America, thanks to a virtual pharmacy system that has been tested on the frozen prairie.
As recently as three years ago, many elderly residents in this area of southeastern North Dakota were forced to order their medications by mail. Now, customers have a real drug store and can talk to a real person who's connected to a pharmacist by the Internet.
''It's perfect,'' said Jim Williams, a longtime Arthur resident. ''You can walk down there and it's done in a few minutes.''
Article Photos
AP?Photo
Kathy Nelson, owner of the drug store in Arthur, demonstrates the computer and camera that pharmacy technicians use to communicate with pharmacists on prescriptions
North Dakota lawmakers opened the door for the telepharmacy project by passing legislation in 2001, after dozens of rural pharmacies went out of business. The project began with 10 volunteer sites in 2002 and has grown to 67 locations.
The idea may be catching on in other places.
States that have changed laws to allow for remote pharmacies include Alaska, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming, along with the District of Columbia. More are on the way, the head of North Dakota's project said.
''We get calls every day from other states,'' said Ann Rathke, director of telepharmacy at North Dakota State University in Fargo. ''A lot of states have used or have adopted in some way our rules, because they were out there.''
Charles Peterson, dean of pharmacy at NDSU, said the rest of the country has been ''watching and waiting'' to see how the North Dakota project worked.
''Every state is struggling with, for the most part, the same issues,'' he said. ''Access to health care in a rural setting is a problem for everyone. We have shown that this is a solution.''
Most telepharmacies are staffed with registered pharmacy technicians, who usually need about two years of schooling and earn about $15 an hour in North Dakota. Some registered nurses also have been trained for the job.
''You don't have the expense of a regular pharmacist,'' said Katie E. Thompson, a registered pharmacist who lives near Page. ''That's the point of a telepharmacy.''
The pharmacy technicians use remote cameras to show pharmacists the original signed prescription, computer-generated label, stock bottle where the pills are stored and the bottle the patient will take home. Once the prescription is approved, patients have a mandatory private consultation with pharmacists through real-time video and audio.
''We can do most of the things the pharmacists do except give professional advice,'' said Jennifer Joyce, the pharmacy technician in Arthur.
She can offer guidance on other matters, such as the weather, crop conditions, family events and high school basketball. Joyce knows all of her patients on a first-name basis. Many of them are there for more than just a bottle of pills.
''When they're sick, sometimes they just want people to listen to them,'' she said.
Rathke said it costs about $18,000 to set up a site in North Dakota, including equipment, installation and one year of Internet service. Telepharmacies pay an annual licensing fee of $175.
''It's not rocket science, and it doesn't cost a tremendous amount of money,'' Rathke said.