The patient who can’t sleep at 11 p.m. is the one who fills out your HCAHPS survey.
Your lobby is full of frustrated families. They just don’t tell you on the way out.
They tell Press Ganey four weeks later, when the survey arrives and they’re scoring the experience, not the procedure.
The HCAHPS survey reaches patients between 48 hours and six weeks after discharge. By then, the IV is forgotten. What sticks is the night nobody could help find a Tylenol.
The spouse
Camped on the waiting-room couch with a pounding headache and no idea where the nearest 24-hour pharmacy is.
The discharge
Handed a script for ibuprofen and sent into the night to find a Walgreens that’s already closed.
The visitor
Heartburn at 2 a.m., the dad who forgot his Tylenol, the mom who needs allergy pills before her kid wakes up.
A pharmacy aisle in your lobby. Without the pharmacy.
One VitaVend RM machine covers the OTC items patients and families ask the front desk for every day. The moment they need them, with zero lift for your team.
Always on
Open when your retail pharmacy is closed, when your gift shop is closed, and when your front desk is buried in admissions.
Simple to use
Touchscreen interface. Contactless card, Apple Pay, Google Pay. No app, no account, no friction. Under 30 seconds from symptom to product in hand.
Zero staff burden
We own the machine, the inventory, and the service. Cellular-connected, so no IT integration. Restocked before it’s empty. Expired product pulled by us, never by you.
HCAHPS isn’t measuring care. It’s measuring memory.
Surveys arrive 48 hours to six weeks after discharge. By then, patients have stopped scoring the procedure and started scoring the experience: the wait, the parking, the lobby, the night they couldn’t find a Tylenol. Small friction, outsized score impact.
Lobby vending lift
Increase in food and beverage satisfaction scores after a hospital added lobby vending. The same psychological mechanism applies to OTC access: visible availability changes the memory patients carry into the survey.
HCAHPS domains touched
Core HCAHPS questions include “communication about medicines.” Patients who can’t access basic OTC remedies during their visit blame the hospital, not the drugstore down the street. The composite score follows.
Survey window opens
HCAHPS surveys are sent as early as 48 hours after discharge. The lobby moment your patient experienced last night is exactly what they’re scoring this week. A closed pharmacy door at 11 p.m. doesn’t fade in two days.
The moment your survey will hear about four weeks later.
Same lobby. Same hour. Different memory. The story patients tell their family, and the surveyor, about whether your hospital had what they needed.
“I had a splitting headache at midnight. The hospital had Tylenol right there in the lobby. Took thirty seconds.”
“Mom needed her allergy meds during a long visit. I didn’t have to leave her side or drive across town to get them.”
Floor space and an outlet. We handle everything else.
No revenue model to negotiate. No staff training. No IT project. Most installations are live in under 30 days.
Site assessment
20-minute lobby walk-through. We map foot traffic, identify the install location, and model patient-volume math for your facility.
Install and brand
ADA-compliant footprint, 30″ × 36″. Standard 110V outlet. Optional custom wrap with your hospital logo so patients see it as your service.
We stock and rotate
Inventory monitored remotely over cellular. Restocked before it runs out. Expired product is removed by our team, never by yours.
Score moves
Patients stop calling the front desk for Tylenol at midnight. Discharges stop driving across town for ibuprofen. The next survey cycle reflects it.
The exact products patients ask the front desk for.
Curated to the OTC requests hospitals receive most often. All FDA-approved. No prescription dispensing. No controlled substances.
Pain & fever
Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin.
Allergy, cold & flu
Loratadine, diphenhydramine, cough and cold combinations, saline nasal spray, throat lozenges.
Digestive
Famotidine, loperamide, bismuth subsalicylate.
First aid
Bandages, gauze, antibiotic ointment.
Comfort essentials
Pediatric formulations, feminine care, reading glasses, phone chargers.
Common questions from procurement.
Does the machine dispense any prescriptions or controlled substances?
No. VitaVend RM dispenses only FDA-approved over-the-counter products and basic comfort items, the same products available at any drugstore. No prescriptions. No controlled substances. No DEA registration required on your end.
What does the hospital have to do to maintain it?
Nothing. We own the machine, the inventory, and the service contract. Our team monitors stock levels remotely over cellular and restocks before product runs out. Expired items are pulled by us. Service calls are answered on-site within 24 hours.
Where does it physically go in our lobby?
Anywhere with a standard 110V outlet and a 30″ × 36″ footprint. ADA-compliant access from the front. We map the optimal location during the 20-minute walk-through, usually near the main waiting area, gift shop, or admissions.
How long until it’s installed?
Most installations are live within 30 days of contract signature. Site assessments are scheduled within 5 business days of your call.
Can the machine be branded with our hospital’s logo?
Yes. Optional custom wraps available so the machine reads as part of your facility, not an outside vendor. Patients credit your hospital, and the satisfaction lift shows up on your survey.
Does it require IT integration with our EHR or pharmacy system?
No. The machine is fully self-contained and cellular-connected. No EHR integration, no network access required, no IT project to scope.
Stop losing satisfaction points to a closed pharmacy door.
Twenty-minute lobby walk-through. We model the patient-volume math for your facility on the spot. Site assessments scheduled within 5 business days.