South Africa has launched the Africa’s first ‘ATM Pharmacy’ in Alexandra Township in Johannesburg.
This groundbreaking innovation that gives patients with chronic illnesses access to treatment in just a few minutes was developed by Right to Care together with a team from Germany.
The Pharmacy Dispensing Unit (PDU) facilitates Skype-like audio-visual interaction between patient and tele-pharmacists, and has cloud based electronic software and robotic technology to dispense and label medication.
The patient scans their barcode ID book, ID card or pharmacy card and enters a PIN. They then talks to a remote pharmacist and selects the prescription or other items. The medicine is then robotically dispensed,labelled and drops in the collection slot. The patient finally takes a receipt which indicates the next collection date.
CGTN’s Julie Scheier has more.
