RIGHT TO CARE EPHARMACY – A GROWING INITIATIVE

In 2018, Alexandra Plaza was selected as a pilot site for an automated Pharmacy Dispensing Unit (PDU™) which was developed by Right to Care and Right ePharmacy in collaboration with the Gauteng Department of Health.

The innovative PDU™ allows registered patients to instantly collect their chronic medication by scanning their ID book, ID card or pharmacy card at the dispensing unit, which resembles an ATM.

In a community where over 30 000 patients are reliant on chronic medication, there is a significant benefit for patients to be able to access their medication from Alexandra Plaza. The centre is easily accessible via the main road and public transport, it is open seven days a week, and the time it takes for patients to collect their medication from a PDU™ is significantly less than from actual healthcare clinics.

Since the launch of the PDU™ at Alexandra Plaza, four additional PDU™ sites have opened at shopping centres located in Diepsloot, Soweto and Bloemfontein, bringing the total number of PDU’s™ nationally to five.

The Alexandra Plaza PDU™ averages 5 000 patient visits per month. Patients receive medication sufficient for two months, which amounts to an average of 10 000 dispenses/ prescriptions per month.

A pharmacist from Right ePharmacy’s Head Office provides support to patients and is available for an online discussion via the screen of the dispensing unit.

Right ePharmacy’s most recent innovation to assist with dispensing of medication and thereby reduce pressure on public health facilities is the Collect & Go Smart Locker™ which is used to safely store pre-dispensed medicine parcels and to facilitate collection by patients. Patients access their medication by entering an one-time pin to open the locker in which their medication has been placed.

To date, Right ePharmacy has rolled out 40 lockers across Gauteng, 11 lockers across Mpumalanga and 13 lockers across the Free State.