Sami Abdel Raouf (Dubai)
The Emirates Corporation for Health Services announced the development of a plan to implement a self-service initiative to receive medicines from the car “Drive Thru” for the first time in the country, in the hospitals affiliated with the Corporation and located from Dubai to Fujairah, noting that the first of this service will be launched in Fujairah Hospital within two weeks. .
In response to Al-Ittihad’s inquiries, the Foundation said: “Receipt of medicines through the car will be available in hospitals according to a timetable set for this regard, and the project seeks to serve a larger number of patients through self-dispensing platforms connected to the robotic pharmacy to receive medicines from the car.”
Dr. Amal Al-Awadi, Director of the Pharmacy Department at the Foundation, announced that work is also underway to implement a project for the self-dispensing of medicines from vehicles, at Al Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah, which contains a larger number of self-dispensing windows for medicines connected to the robotic pharmacy to serve a larger number of the public.
She stressed that the main objective of the project is to serve the public of patients in facilitating the process of receiving medicines without the need to wait in pharmacies or enter the hospital.
She stated that the project aims to relieve pressure on pharmacies affiliated with the Emirates Health Services Corporation, as medicines are dispensed through automated teller machines connected to a fully automated robotic pharmacy without the need for a pharmacist to dispense medication to patients and without the patient’s need to enter the hospital.
He pointed out the possibility of making video calls between the patient and the pharmacist to provide the required advice when needed.
These pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical projects come within the Corporation’s keenness to diversify the platforms for providing service to patients and the use of modern technology in the development of pharmaceutical services, and in the interest of the happiness of patients, as the patient is the first axis of all development work.
Dr. Amal Al-Awadi confirmed that this achievement is part of the national strategy for innovation and artificial intelligence and in line with the objectives of the Emirates Health Services Corporation, which aims to make the UAE among the most innovative countries in the world, given that innovation, research, science and technology are the main pillars of development and upgrading the quality of life for all members of society. .
She said: “The smart pharmacy concept has proven high efficiency in achieving speed and accuracy in dispensing medicines to patients, in addition to the most important advantages of reducing patients’ waiting time to receive medicines and using (barcode) to reduce medication errors, which leads to improving patient safety and providing a better experience for them. ».
innovative solution
The Director of the Pharmacy Department at the Foundation described the automated drug dispensing service as an “innovative solution” that will contribute to the development of the pharmacy services sector using the latest artificial intelligence technologies.
On the mechanism of providing the service, Al-Awadi replied: “The modern system allows choosing the appropriate drug dispensing window for the patient (pharmacy, automated teller machines or by home delivery) through the unified patient portal (Shifaa), as soon as he leaves the doctor’s office or meets the doctor through The electronic clinic.
She added, “The patient can, through the self-dispensing devices connected to the robotic pharmacy, receive the prescribed medications from the car, by using the Emirates ID and the prescription code issued from the Shifa portal in the self-service devices designated for preparing and dispensing electronic medical prescriptions automatically, which work around the clock. ».
Communication
She stated that these devices allow the possibility of making video calls between the patient and the pharmacist to provide medication advice when needed, in addition to that, the system communicates with patients and sends various notifications, such as reminders of the dates for re-dispensing the prescription, and notification of the readiness of medicines to be received from self-service devices.
Al-Awadi pointed out that the project will be subject to follow-up, evaluation and development when needed, as work will be followed up on the development of the project to keep pace with global changes in the health field to gain customer satisfaction and achieve community well-being, stressing at the same time that the project is a new and innovative idea using artificial intelligence techniques.
She pointed out that this project is being carried out in cooperation with a specialized international company, and the information sector of the Emirates Corporation for Health Services, stressing that the most benefiting segment of this self-service are the people who do not want to wait in the pharmacy building or enter the hospital building.
