A view of the e-lockers at the District Six Community Day Centre. Picture: Western Cape Department of Health.
Cape Town – The Western Cape Health Department, in partnership with Right ePharmacy, ANOVA and USAID, has introduced new Collect & GO e-lockers in the metro for public healthcare patients with stable chronic conditions to collect their medication.
According to their statement, the Collect & Go e-lockers are medicine dispensing units that allow patients to collect their monthly medication. The e-lockers have been launched as a pilot project at 11 healthcare facilities. These Healthcare facilities include:
•Heideveld Community Health Centre
•Gugulethu Community Health Centre
•Mitchells Plain Community Health Centre
•Khayelitsha District Hospital
•Eerste River Hospital
•Nomzamo Community Health Centre
•Kraaifontein Community Health Centre
•Delft Community Health Centre
•Elsies River Community Health Centre
•District Six Community Day Centre
•Lady Michaelis Community Day Centre
These state-of-the-art lockers are fitted with air-conditioning units with remote temperature monitors for optimal storage conditions.
According to the e-lockers project manager, Gillian Makota, patients will receive an SMS with a one-time PIN (OTP) to collect their monthly medication parcel after signing up for the service.
“The e-locker consists of a console unit with pigeon-holes (like a Post Office box) to load and unload medicine parcels. Patients receive an SMS notification with a one-time PIN to collect medicine at the patient collecting unit (e-locker). Patients will enter their one-time PIN code using the touch screen interface, and the specific locker door opens. The patient can then collect their medicines safely and securely,” Makota said.
Residents can collect their medication without any face-to-face contact, keeping themselves, fellow patients and healthcare staff safe.
“The lockers are Covid-19 friendly. While it allows us to deliver medication safely, it also improves patient access to pre-dispensed medication parcels, which means that patients do not have to go queue at the facilities for medicine, reducing waiting time. It also offers convenient times for medicine collection, with 24-hour access to the facilities. In addition to this, it means that we can retain patients in our care and promote treatment adherence,” she said.
A call centre supports the lockers to deal with any issues. Patients who have enquiries about the service can contact their local healthcare facility or the call centre by using the toll-free helpline at 080 001 4945.
IOL