Alternative Africa

Top Menu

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

logo

Alternative Africa

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
  • New study says Pfizer Covid vaccine may not be very effective on obese people

  • Nigerian president, Buhari to emulate 4 African leaders who publicly received covid-jab

  • Israel offers travellers tracking bracelet as alternative to hotel quarantine

  • Kenyan farmers drag govt to court over UK trade deal

  • Nigeria launches online registration for covid vaccination ahead of rollout

HealthNews NowTechnology
Home›Health›Africa launches first “ATM pharmacy” to cut hospital queues

Africa launches first “ATM pharmacy” to cut hospital queues

By alternativeafrica
March 18, 2018
971
0
Share:

Africa’s first pharmacy ATM to cut hospital queues was launched in South Africa. Photo: J Maromo ANA

London, March 18, 2018 (AltAfrika)-Yes, you heard it right. It’s Automated Teller Machine, commonly referred to as ATM. But this time, it doesn’t dispense cash it dispenses drugs.

South Africans who rely on the perennial congested public health facilities in Gauteng are breathing a sigh of relief as the ground-breaking Pharmacy Dispensing Unit (PDU), also referred to as the “ATM pharmacy”, was launched in the Alexandra township of Johannesburg last Thursday.

Gauteng Health MEC, Dr Gwen Ramokgopa said the robotic machines will curb the congestion and lengthy queuing characteristic of the public health facilities as patients will now have the option of collecting their medication at different centres away from the hospitals.

“We have leveraged the ICTs, digitalisation of the economy to benefit the health of our people. The Pharmacy Dispensing Unit will assist us to reduce congestion in the public health facilities. Already, in Gauteng we have over 400 000 that are receiving their medicines offsite, as part of decongesting our facilities,” said Ramokgopa.

“Currently they [receive their medication] through the pharmacists that are there in the retail stores and also some that are stand-alone. This technology will assist in reaching with more services to our 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 utilise your medication, to find out if you are having side-effects before medicine is dispensed through 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 comprising 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, cloud based 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 queuing at health facilities are detrimental to economic growth and production.

“One of our staff members went for a first visit at a clinic yesterday [Wednesday]. They arrived as patient number 17 at one of the clinics, and left eight hours later. So these incredible waiting times are costing not only people in their individual capacities, but we have published that it actually costs the patient an average of R150 each time they go to a department of health facility for their visits or to collect their medicines,” he said.

“Not only does it cost the patient time and effort, it is costing workdays lost and costing the economy. In partnership with USAID and the GIZ [the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – a German federal enterprise that supports the German government in achieving objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development] respectively the US government, the German government and in partnership with Mach4, who are the technology partner from Germany, we have been able to build these pharmacy facilities.”

African News Agency (ANA)

SHARE ON:
Previous Article

Africa’s startups are more gender-balanced than their ...

Next Article

INEC to release fresh timetable for Senator ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

alternativeafrica

Related articles More from author

  • News Now

    Nigeria 2019: CAN demands Deputy Gov Slot in Niger state

    October 11, 2018
    By alternativeafrica
  • News NowPolitics

    I will leave Nigeria better than I met it-President Buhari

    March 29, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • News NowSports

    Premier League gets first female Chief Executive

    November 13, 2018
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaHealthNews Now

    South Africa sets new record of 13,500 new Covid-19 cases, 111 deaths in 24 hours

    July 12, 2020
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaBusinessNews Now

    AFCFTA to compensate African countries that suffer revenue loss through free trade

    August 29, 2020
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaNews NowPolitics

    Atiku will enrich self, cronies if he wins, US group warns

    January 10, 2019
    By alternativeafrica

Leave a reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You might be interested

  • AfricaHealthNews Now

    Kenya unable to account for 40,000 births over covid-19

  • BusinessNews Now

    The digital bank – delivering on Africa’s potential

  • HealthNews NowTechnologyWorld

    UK Scientists developing new Covid breath test that diagnoses virus ‘within one minute’

Timeline

  • March 2, 2021

    New study says Pfizer Covid vaccine may not be very effective on obese people

  • March 2, 2021

    Nigerian president, Buhari to emulate 4 African leaders who publicly received covid-jab

  • March 2, 2021

    Israel offers travellers tracking bracelet as alternative to hotel quarantine

  • March 2, 2021

    Kenyan farmers drag govt to court over UK trade deal

  • March 2, 2021

    Nigeria launches online registration for covid vaccination ahead of rollout

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Morocco begins regional integration by connecting Casablanca Airport with High Speed Train

    By alternativeafrica
    January 4, 2020
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • Nigeria: 32,000 capacity Lagos rice mill to start production in 2020

    By alternativeafrica
    December 23, 2019
  • Ado zagi
    on
    January 12, 2021

    Nigeria: EFCC Academy to begin award of degree

    Diploma leave areply from
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two | taktik(z) GDI (Government Defense ...
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack fol­lowed a January ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack followed a ...
AlternativeAfrica.com is an independent Pan African News Website dedicated primarily to influencing the negative narratives about Africa. We hope to do this by focusing and showcasing the many developmental strides sweeping across the continent.

Read more >>>

Contact Info

  • info@alternativeafrica.com
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • New study says Pfizer Covid vaccine may not be very effective on obese people

    By alternativeafrica
    March 2, 2021
  • Nigerian president, Buhari to emulate 4 African leaders who publicly received covid-jab

    By alternativeafrica
    March 2, 2021
  • Israel offers travellers tracking bracelet as alternative to hotel quarantine

    By alternativeafrica
    March 2, 2021
  • Kenyan farmers drag govt to court over UK trade deal

    By alternativeafrica
    March 2, 2021
  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Macron in Ivory Coast to launch anti-terrorism academy

    By alternativeafrica
    December 21, 2019
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • Ado zagi
    on
    January 12, 2021

    Nigeria: EFCC Academy to begin award of degree

    Diploma leave areply from
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two | taktik(z) GDI (Government Defense ...
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack fol­lowed a January ...

Photostream

    Follow us

    • Home
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
    © Copyright Alternative Africa 2019. All rights reserved.