Smart way to dispense medication
Innovator brings relief with locker
THE painful experience of spending hours in a government hospital queue waiting for chronic medication ignited in young innovator Neo Hutiri the burning idea of designing the innovative Pelebox Smart Lockers to dispense medication.
“My passion has always been to make use of technology and assist medicine to make a social impact. The work that I have always focused my efforts on is ensuring that we can build systems that are authentic, low cost and focusing on low-income communities,” Hutiri said at the ongoing Science Forum South African Innovation Bridge 2019 in Pretoria.
“I started my journey as a patient. There is a problem of long queues. I was waiting to collect my treatment for TB (tuberculosis) at Bophelong Clinic in the Vaal.”
Pelebox is a digital platform that manages various internet-enabled smart lockers which dispense the medication. The lockers work as a collection point for patients to fetch their repeat chronic medication “in under two minutes” without joining long queues at public health facilities.
The lockers are strategically placed at locations such as shopping malls and retail outlets, enabling patients to pick up their medication while shopping.
To reap the benefits of Hutiri’s innovation, a patient is enrolled in the local clinic’s collection programme. The patient is then issued with a sixmonth prescription. Pre-packaged medication is loaded into the locker and the system sends the patient a one-time-pin for collecting the medication at their nearest centre.
Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Blade Nzimande addressed thousands of delegates who converged in Pretoria for the apex science forum.
This year, the Innovation Bridge a technology matchmaking and showcasing event, and the Science Forum SA – previously separate events – have joined forces to in an effort to serve the South African innovation ecosystem. |
I started my journey as a patient. I was waiting for my TB treatment Neo Hutiri INVENTOR