By DHARMENDER SINGH
dharam@thestar.com.my
PUTRAJAYA: Patients suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension need not travel far distances or wait in queue for hours as they can now obtain their medication via post, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
Liow said the Pos 1Malaysia Medication Service which started at the Putrajaya Hospital on a trial basis in 2009 would now be expanded nationwide.
It is meant for patients suffering from chronic diseases who are in stable condition and on long-term medication.
“These patients need to continuously take the medication prescribed to them but sometimes miss their appointments to collect the medication.
“We expect thousands of people to apply for the service after today’s launch,” he said at a press conference after launching the service here yesterday.
It is available at 26 major hospitals nationwide as well as the Putrajaya Health Clinic and the Luyang Health Clinic in Sabah.
Patients only need to register once for the service and the medication would then be sent at a cost of RM3.50 within the Putrajaya area, RM5 to all other parts of Peninsular Malaysia and RM8 in Sabah and Sarawak.
Liow said the service is in line with the ministry’s aim to reduce the number of patients collecting their medication from the pharmacy, which currently stood at over 31 million prescriptions.
He said it was an expansion of value-added services already offered including the integrated medication dispensing system (SPUB), SMS and collect, phone and collect and the drive-through pharmacy.
The SPUB service is now available at 136 hospitals and 532 health clinics nationwide.
The SMS and collect service is currently available at 66 hospitals and 44 clinics.
The phone and collect service is available at 61 hospitals and 36 clinics and finally, the drive through service is offered at three hospitals and 14 clinics.
On the safety of the medication delivered through the Pos 1Malaysia service, Liow said all medicines were packed by the pharmacy staff to avoid tampering while serial numbers would enable postal staff to track the parcels.
The Star 25/1/2011
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