CHICAGO — Most patients don’t expect to be sent to a vending machine immediately after a doctor’s appointment or a hospital stay.

But there are two new vending machines in Chicago that dole out prescription medications — not snacks — at Advocate Trinity Hospital and Advocate Medical Group’s Imani Village clinic.

The machines are stocked with common medicines — such as those to treat flu, bacterial infections and gastrointestinal issues — as well as those for chronic illnesses, including heart disease, high blood pressure and asthma. Patients can pick up their prescriptions right after their doctors’ appointments or after they’re discharged from the hospital.

Doctors ask patients if they’d like to pick up their medicine from the machines, and if they agree, doctors can send prescriptions

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