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Pick up medicine anytime with new service

This article is more than 12 months old

Time spent at the polyclinic has halved for part-time clinic assistant Juliana Wee in the past few months.

The 64-year-old no longer has to wait to pick up medicine and pay for it at the pharmacy.

A new service, Pilbox, allows patients to pick up their medicine any time of the day and without seeing a pharmacist.

With it, patients will be alerted by an SMS when their medicine is ready for collection, and they can pick it up from the lockers at any time.

Pilbox was launched in August at Bedok Polyclinic, which recently reopened at new community hub Heartbeat@Bedok.

Dr Juliana Bahadin, clinic director and consultant at Bedok Polyclinic, which comes under SingHealth, told reporters yesterday that Pilbox has reduced waiting time at the pharmacy by 40 per cent for users.

Pilbox uses a 40-locker and self-cooling system, allowing a wider range of medication to be stored for later collection.

Ms Christina Lim, head of pharmacy operations at SingHealth Polyclinics, said that as a precaution, the lockers cannot store any addictive medicine.

"There are plenty of closed-circuit television cameras to ensure that no one can abuse Pilbox," she added.

PUNGGOL

Pilbox was piloted at Marine Parade Polyclinic in May last year and will be used in Punggol Polyclinic when it opens later this month.

Four Seek MyHealth kiosks that allow patients with chronic conditions to check their blood pressure or body mass index have also been introduced at Bedok Polyclinic. The kiosks can also ask patients questions to monitor their conditions, based on their history.

Dr Bahadin said 100 to 130 patients daily have replaced conventional pre-consultation with this.

SingHealth Polyclinics intends to eventually use technology-based services such as Pilbox and Seek MyHealth kiosks, and integrated care services at all its polyclinics.

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