Thursday, 27 September 2018, Many people are under the impression that the convenience of having their chronic medication delivered via courier each month, or as needed, is a luxury they cannot afford.

“Finding the time to collect one’s chronic medicine can be a challenge, and for elderly or unwell patients in particular the difficulties associated with filling prescriptions through traditional channels can lead to unintentional, though potentially dangerous, breaks in treatment,” explains RentiaMyburgh, Group Sales and Marketing Director of Medipost Pharmacy.

“It is critical that medicine for chronic conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, cancer and HIV, is taken exactly as prescribed without interruption, and we go to great lengths to help ensure that it is as simple and cost effective as possible for the patients we serve to adhere to their treatment.”

For the last 27 years, Medipost Pharmacy has been a trusted partner to medical schemes and private patients, providing free delivery to a customer’s home, theirnearest approved delivery point, such as a doctor’s rooms, clinic orPEPcell counter, and by arrangement to the customer’stemporary address or holiday destination within South Africa.Some 400 000 medical scheme members across South Africa are among those currently benefitting from Medipost’s courier pharmacy service.

“The size of our national pharmacy means that we have been able to scale our operations to save money for the patients who make use of our service. For instance,Medipost Pharmacy’s dispensing fees are considerably below the market average, and our customers are not billed for administrative or courier delivery fee aspects of our service.

“Many people who belong to a medical scheme find that their benefits become depleted, but are unaware that they can claim from a specific category of their benefits for chronic medicine. Our friendly and efficient staff assist medical scheme members to claim correctly from the chronic medication benefit, which means that the member’smedical schemeannual medication limit, where applicable,lastsmuch longer.”

Myburgh explains that the value of the courier pharmacy service goes far beyond the money saved on transport for people who would otherwise need to go to a chemist or healthcare facility in person to collect their medicine.

“Time is precious, and our customers appreciate the fact that they can save time through making use of our service, as there are many more enjoyable and profitable ways to spend time than making a special trip to a healthcare facility and standing in line to collect medicine each time one needs to fill a script.”

Patient privacy and medical confidentiality are of paramount importance, and Medipost Pharmacy guarantees these rights are protected at all times. Medicine is delivered in tamper-proof parcels, packaged in such a way that the contents are not visible or indicated until the parcel is unwrapped by the customer it is addressed to so that confidentiality is assured.

Rentia Myburgh, Group Sales and Marketing Director of Medipost Pharmacy.

Medipost Pharmacy customers also benefit from access to telephonic clinical advice from pharmacists and pharmacist assistants in their preferred official South African language. “This excellent resource, which is available from Monday to Friday (08h00 to 22h00) and Saturdays 08h00 to 12h00, enables customers to discuss issues such as potential side effects of medicine and directions for use with a properly qualified, registered professional,” Myburgh says.

In addition to the convenience of medicine deliveries, there are a number of mechanisms in place to support customers’ adherence to their prescribed medicine. Medipost’s advanced systems inform customers via various communication methods when their prescriptions require renewal and the team is able to helpcustomers in facilitating this.

“Perhaps the greatest value of our integrated pharmacy and delivery service is that we assist our customers, including some 400 000 medical scheme members each month, to get the best out of their prescribed treatment through making medicine more accessible – in terms of affordability of medicine, understanding how to take it correctly for as long as necessary, and unsurpassed convenience,” Myburgh concluded.

Ends

Issued by:           Martina Nicholson Associates (MNA) on behalf of Medipost Pharmacy

Contact:               Martina Nicholson, Graeme Swinney, Meggan Saville and EsteneLotriet-Vorster

Telephone:        (011) 469 3016

Email:                   martina@mnapr.co.za, graeme@mnapr.co.za, meggan@mnapr.co.za or estene@mnapr.co.za