The health organisation, Right to Care, has under its ePharmacy wing launched a three-in-one Central Dispensing Unit (CDU) located at the Twin City Shopping Complex in the Free State capital in recent weeks. The technologically advanced unit, which will receive and store medication, is but one of only two such units in sub-Saharan Africa, aimed at reducing long queues for accessing medication by public health patients. Information Technology Application and Quality Assurance Specialist at Right ePharmacy, David Molele, explains to OFM News what the dispensary actually is and how one can distinguish the unit from the ATM pharmacies that were launched by Right to Care in 2018.

He says the system integrates multiple existing systems, together enabling the user to dispense medication to patients and automatically “update patient records electronically”. There is no manual intervention required, explains Molele, “from the script getting onto the system, to dispensing the medication, to collecting the medication and updating all relevant systems, to determine which patients have collected their drugs on time and which patients have not”. There is a call centre from which patients who have not collected their medication in over two days, will be contacted and reminded to do so. The automated updating of patient records is the Central Dispensing Unit’s biggest draw card.

Funded by the Global Fund and introduced in collaboration with the Free State Health Department, the unit builds on the existing above-mentioned systems introduced by Right ePharmacy in recent years to distribute medication. These include the Pharmacy Dispensary Unit (PDU) where patients engage with pharmacists virtually and receive their medicine. There are the Collect and Go lockers launched in 2018, commonly referred to as the ATM lockers. Here patients receive messages with an OTP number that they enter and receive their medicine. 

To explain more accurately public healthcare patients will have go to the unit to have their prescriptions submitted. Once packaged and ready, patients will receive an OTP code to pick up their medicine from Collect and Go lockers, avoiding long queues in the process. 

According to Right ePharmacy “Collect & Go smart lockers are pick-up points for chronic medication and are available at 18 sites in the Free State, funded by the Global fund (Bloemfontein) and Eastern Free State (USAID). 

They are situated in:

Bloemfontein: Twin City Shopping Centre, MUCPP CHC, Batho Clinic, Gabriel Dichaba Clinic, National District Hospital

Bethlehem: Bohlokong Clinic, Paballong Clinic and Phekelong

Ficksburg: Meqheleng Clinic

Harrismith: Harrismith Clinic

Petrus Steyn: Rearabetswe Clinic

Puthaitjhaba: Bluegum Bosh, Bolata Clinic, Elizabeth Ross District Hospital, Phutaiditjaba Clinic, Qholaqhwe, Tebang Clinic and Tseki Clinic. 

OFM News