Drug dispensers to end public health congestion
SOUTH Africans who rely on the perennially congested public health facilities in Gauteng are breathing a sigh of relief as the groundbreaking Pharmacy Dispensing
Unit (PDU), also referred to as the “ATM pharmacy”, was launched in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township on Thursday.
Gauteng Health MEC, Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, said the robotic machines would curb the congestion and lengthy queueing characteristic of the public health facilities, as patients would now have the option of collecting their medication at different centres away from hospitals.
“We have leveraged the digitalisation of the economy to benefit the health of our people.
The Pharmacy Dispensing Unit will help us reduce congestion in public health facilities. Already in Gauteng we have more than 400 000 receiving their medicine off-site,” said Ramokgopa.
“They (get their medication) through pharmacists in the retail stores, and some are standalone. This technology will help us reach more patients without compromising safety. There are pharmacist assistants on site and at the machine. Through Skype technology it is also possible to get counselling on how to use your medication, to find out if you are having side effects before it’s dispensed via robotic technology.”
The ATM pharmacy is programmed to dispense repeat medication to patients with chronic illnesses in under three minutes.
The innovative PDU is the first of its kind in Africa, and was developed by a team of experts from non-profit organisation Right to Care and Right epharmacy, in collaboration with the Gauteng department of health, headed by Ramokgopa.
The PDU works with Skype-like audio-visual interaction between patient and tele-pharmacists, cloudbased electronic software and robotic technology, to dispense and label medication.
Right to Care chief executive, Professor Ian Sanne, said the long hours spent by South Africans queueing at health facilities were detrimental to economic growth and production. “One of our staff visited a clinic yesterday. They arrived as patient number 17 and left eight hours later. It actually costs a patient an average of R150 each time they go to a health department facility for a visit or to collect medicine,” he said.
“Not only does it cost the patient time and effort; it costs workdays lost and hits the economy. In partnership with USAID, GIZ
(the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and Mach4, we have been able to build these facilities,” Sanne said. – African News Agency (ANA)