H-E-B PRESCRIBES AUTOMATED PHONES

PETER MALBIN

SAN ANTONIO -- H.E. Butt Grocery here has purchased Atlanta-based National Data Corp. Relief Telefill pharmacy systems for its in-store pharmacies.

Relief TeleFill is an automated telephone access system for customers requesting prescription refills, refill status and other transactions.

"The system gives customers 24-hour pharmacy access to having their prescriptions refilled, checking the status of their prescription -- whether it's ready to be picked up -- as well as store hours and nearest 24-hour pharmacy location," said Joe Tommaro, H-E-B's pharmacy productivity manager.

"In our market area, this is a distinct advantage. Not many other pharmacies have a system that is as sophisticated as this," Tommaro commented. "Since it was developed by Zadall [NDC recently purchased Zadall], it is uniquely integrated with their prescription-filling software."

H-E-B's pharmacies also use NDC's Relief Advanced Pharmacy Systems.

There are 164 H-E-B total core supermarkets. Of these, 123 have pharmacies. H-E-B just opened a supermarket in Lake Charles, La., and will open two stores in Monterrey, Mexico, in the near future.