New drive-thru pharmacy to reduce daily patient load by 30 per cent
SIBU: The new drive-through pharmacy at Jalan Oya Health Clinic here costing RM45,000 will reduce the daily patient load by 30 per cent at the state’s busiest health clinic, said Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing Dr Annuar Rapaee.
Dr Annuar, who is also Assistant Minister for Education, Science and Technological Research, said he was made to understand that Jalan Oya Health Clinic handles about 1,000 patients daily.
“The advantages of having this drive-through are many and easing the congestion at this clinic is among them.
“The intention here is to reduce the daily patient load by 30 per cent or 300 people as we want to provide a convenient alternative to the standard method of collecting medicine at the clinic.
“So, I think this concept should also be extended to other busy clinics like Lanang Health Clinic,” Dr Annuar told reporters after launching Jalan Oya Health Clinic’s drive-through pharmacy here yesterday.
This is the second of such facility after the one in Sibu Hospital.
The Nangka assemblyman pointed out that the drivethrough will enable patients to collect their medication faster and in a convenient manner as they need not wait inside the clinic.
At this juncture, Senator Robert Lau chipped in, saying that Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, who visited the clinic last year, likened the patient load to that of a hospital.
Meanwhile, according to Sibu Divisional Health Office, the budget was approved by the Health Minister during his visit to Jalan Oya Health Clinic last year.
On this, DHO expressed its appreciation to Dr Adham and his deputy Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang.
It added: “This drive-through is part of our effort to decongest the clinic including rental of satellite clinic and renovations at Oya Clinic. Most importantly to teach customer new norms and to follow appointment system.”
Meanwhile, its operating hours from Mondays to Thursdays are 8.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4.30pm, Fridays from 8.30am to 11.45am and 2.15pm to 4.30pm
It is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
In a press release distributed to the media, it stated that the drive-through is a new valueadded service at Jalan Oya Health Clinic’s pharmacy.
It added that in 2020, the pharmacy unit at Jalan Oya Health Clinic received 180,276 prescriptions, where 51 per cent or 92,610 were follow up prescriptions with an average of 350 follow up prescriptions daily. This has contributed to the congestion at the clinic.
The drive-through tackles problems faced by patients obtaining follow up medication such as difficulty in obtaining parking space, congestion at the clinic’s pharmacy counter and long waiting time.
Patients with follow up medicine prescription need to register with Jalan Oya Health Clinic Pharmacy to use such facility.
Upon successful registration, patients will be given a drivethrough pharmacy card.
The appointment to obtain the medication agreed will be fixed.
For more information on the drive-through pharmacy, call 084-323355 ext 121 or 013 815 9608 or come personally to meet the pharmacy staff at Jalan Oya Health Clinic.
Among those present were Sibu Resident Charles Siaw and Jalan Oya Health Clinic pharmacist Chang Poh Yin