The Right ePharmacy has closed all of its Gauteng ATM pharmacy branches permanently, following the recent spate of violence and unrest that affected some parts of the country.

Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces saw an outbreak of widespread protests and looting, purportedly sparked by the arrest and imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

The violent protests in Gauteng, which targeted shopping malls and other infrastructure, impacted the province’s healthcare services and halted its vaccine roll-out, amidst the country’s efforts to curb the fast-moving third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Right ePharmacy’s ATM pharmacies at Baragwanath Mall, in Diepkloof, and Ndofaya Mall, in Meadowlands – both located in Soweto – were destroyed during the unrest. The Alexandra Right ePharmacy, situated at Alex Plaza, suffered a similar fate, while the branch in Diepsloot, at the Bambanani Mall, was left mostly intact.

They has issued assurances that no patient records were compromised, as all data is securely stored in a cloud-based environment. Since the establishment of ATM pharmacies in Gauteng, Right ePharmacy has served almost 55 000 patients and dispensed more than 710 000 chronic medicine prescriptions.

Right e-Pharmacy’s innovative Collect & Go™ Smart Lockers are geared to reduce congestion in public health facilities and encourage adherence. By making it quick and convenient for patients on chronic medicine to collect their medication. Visit: https://t.co/GwsBxV2mMP pic.twitter.com/m5mmcqkkPg

— Right ePharmacy (@rightepharmacy) May 28, 2021

Quick service

Right ePharmacy’s ATM branches enabled patients to collect two months’ supply of medication in just under three minutes, offering an audio-visual telepharmacy consultation with each visit.

Fanie Hendriksz, managing director of Right ePharmacy, confirmed the company’s ongoing commitment to assist, innovate and collaborate with last mile solutions for public healthcare.

“We remain committed to the development of ATM pharmacy technology. Our other innovations and successful projects, such as the Collect & Go smart lockers, in-pharmacy automation and centralised dispensing facilities continue to positively impact the lives of patients in Africa,” said Hendriksz.

“We are grateful to our funders, partners and shareholders, including Right to Care, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Global Fund, for making it possible to actualise innovative solutions that positively impact the lives of patients on the continent.”

Right ePharmcy, together with the Gauteng Department of Health, will help patients to transition to other facilities so they can continue to receive their chronic medication without disruption. Patients are being directed to hospitals, clinics and alternative service providers. – Health-e News