Upgrade on medication delivery service: over a hundred community collection points now available
The Hospital Authority (HA) medication delivery service has been upgraded. In addition to having medications delivered directly to patients’ homes or offices, patients can now choose to collect the HA-dispensed medications at more than 100 community collection points of the two chain pharmacy stores, Watsons and Mannings. Patients will also receive medication counselling from community pharmacist on the spot. Among those who used medication delivery service, around 15% have chosen to pick up their medications at community collection points so far.
Service tailored to patient needs
Mr Chan regularly attends specialist outpatient clinics for follow-up consultations and used to spend long time to collect his medications. “The seating area at the hospital pharmacy was always full, and I would pass the time on my phone,” he says. “I could receive pickup notifications by using the ‘HA Go’ app, but I preferred to wait in the hospital because the location is not convenient for me to leave and return.” Mr Chan chose not to use the medication delivery service when it was first introduced by the HA last year. “My job requires me to be at different construction sites, so it was impractical for me to stay in the office waiting for the delivery and my family were not able to receive the medications at home either,” he explains.The new community collection service works well for Mr Chan’s case. “The community collection point near my home is open until 8pm, which means I can pick up my medications after work,” he says, adding that the pharmacist at the community pharmacy patiently addressed his concerns and questions about drug allergies.
Medication counselling by pharmacist
Ms Lo decided to use the community collection service due to an urgent situation. “I used to kill time by eating at nearby restaurants while waiting for my medications,” she recalls. “On one occasion, while I was waiting in the lobby, I received an urgent call to return to work so I decided to use the medication delivery service.”For her first experience of the new service, Ms Lo chose a community collection point near her home. “I went to collect my medications on a Saturday. There was no line at the pharmacy and the pharmacist quickly checked my medications and explained the necessary precautions of my medications to me,” she says. “The process was smooth.”
How the community collection service works
- After the patient obtains a pharmacy ticket, he/ she can select ‘Medication Delivery Service’ in the ‘HA Go’ app. Patient can choose the ‘Collection Point’ option and select the preferred collection point by district or service provider, then follow the instructions and complete payment to place the delivery request.
- The patient pays a standard delivery fee of HK$65 per prescription, which is the same as the current fee for the medication delivery service. There is no additional payment required.
- Once the medications arrive at the collection point, the patient receives a notification and will need to collect his/ her medications within three working days.
- When the patient arrives at the collection point, he/ she needs to show the QR code on the ‘HA Go’ app for verification. The pharmacist will then check the medications and provide medication counselling. The pharmacist will also inform HA to follow up when necessary.