At the International Aids Conference, which is currently taking place in Durban, the Department of Health, has announced that South Africans will soon obtain their medication from self-service ATM-style machines.
In a statement, the Department of Health, says through the Pharmacy Dispensing Unit (PDU), currently being piloted at Thembalethu Clinic in Johannesburg, is a self-service machine where patients can obtain their medication in the same way people withdraw money at an ATM.
Says the Department: “To use the machine, all a patient needs to do is register for the service, after which they receive a card that’s similar to a bank card. To ‘withdraw’ their medication, users simply insert their card into the PDU machine, enter their PIN and select the medication they require from their prescription list. The machine immediately dispenses the selected medication, eliminating the need for the patient to wait in queues.”