Right ePharmacy, in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH), is fast-tracking roll out of Collect & Go smart lockers, making sure citizens don’t wait in long queues for their chronic medication during lockdown.
In a statement, Right ePharmacy says 70 locker sites are being rolled out in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State and will be completed within a month.
In addition, 80% of the sites are already live and the first patients will be able to collect medication in May.
Fanie Hendriksz, MD of Right ePharmacy, says: “Electronic locker technology has been widely used for e-commerce internationally. To improve healthcare delivery, Right ePharmacy adapted the solution to develop collect and go smart lockers for medication collection with the help of the CSIR. These locally manufactured secure electronic lockers safely store your monthly chronic medication, so you can quickly and easily collect it close to where you live and work at a time that suits you.”
Right ePharmacy, which has also brought ATM-style pharmacies as well in-pharmacy automation, says Collect & Go part of a DOH initiative to reduce congestion in public health facilities and to ensure that facilities remain able to cope with coronavirus and other emergency cases.
Furthermore, the smart lockers also support the department’s central chronic medication dispensing and distribution programme and the national adherence strategy.
The Right ePharmacy statement notes the Collect & Go locations are near public health facilities and busy areas like community shopping centres, police stations and inside retail pharmacies and doctors’ rooms, transport routes and areas where people live and work.
“Patients will be registered for Collect & Go at their healthcare facility if their condition is stable. They will be given two months’ supply of medication and provided with the date for a first Collect & Go experience.
“Patients will need to return to their healthcare facility for a follow-up visit every six months and will be reminded to do so via SMS. A healthcare worker will then assess the patient and renew the prescription for Collect & Go,” reads the statement.
In terms of medicine collection, as soon as the medicine is in the locker, patients will receive an SMS with a uniquely generated, one-time PIN on their mobile phone.
On arrival at the locker, the PIN number is inserted on a touch screen. The patient opens the locker and removes the medicine parcel.The medicine parcel will contain two months’ supply of chronic medicine.
“Collect & Go smart lockers are customised to meet stringent pharmacy regulations. They include air-conditioning units and remote temperature monitors for optimal storage conditions. The lockers only need a 220V power source and do not need data connectivity. Because lockers can be installed in remote locations, Collect & Go will help increase access to medicines in SA’s rural areas.”
All medicine parcels are tracked and medicine that is not collected is flagged and can be followed up telephonically by the Collect & Go call centre.
Hendriksz concludes, “Because collecting repeat medicine will become so easy, patients won’t have to fear going to a healthcare facility during the Covid-19 pandemic. Collect & Go will make it easier for patients to stay on treatment, remain well and avoid health issues and additional risks. We are doing research to investigate and understand the benefits of this solution to both patients and healthcare workers.”
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