Johannesburg – To ease congestion and minimise the chances of contracting Covid-19 at its clinics, the City of Joburg has established 381 chronic medication pick-up points, for patients to collect their medication at venues convenient for them. The pick-up points are available in all the city’s regions.
The collection of medication from the Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution points has been re-branded as “Dablapmeds” – the short cut for people receiving medication. Millions of South Africans are dependent on chronic medication for conditions such as HIV, diabetes, high blood pressure and epilepsy. Not taking chronic medication could lead to the worsening of illness and in severe cases it can lead to death.
Patients with chronic illnesses who possess an ID, passport or asylum permit and meet the criteria for being stable on chronic medication for six months or longer, can use the pick-up points. Patients who do not have these documents do not have to queue and can fetch their medication at their local clinic’s “facility pick-up point”.
Patients start their journey at a primary health care (PHC) facility to register to fetch their medication at their preferred pick-up points. If they meet the criteria, a six-month prescription will be written, the City said. The patient will be given medication for the first two months. They can then collect medication for the subsequent months at their chosen pick-up point.
After six months patients need to return to their PHC facility for assessment and re-scripting, where they will be given medication for months seven and eight, and can collect prescriptions for months nine, 10, 11 and 12 at the pick-up points.
The Star