The Pharmacy Department at the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has enhanced and integrated several of its services with other healthcare providers in the country.

“PHCC provides about 3mn medical prescriptions annually across all its health centres. We have also integrated many of our services with Hamad Medical Corporation as well as other healthcare organisations so that the patients can continue their treatment at our health centres,” said Dr Durriya Mubarak al-Qahtani, director of Integrated Care & Continuity of Care, PHCC, yesterday during a press coonference.

“We are starting the ambulatory clinical pharmacy programme which will run for the next six months in PHCC. We have also started the homecare pharmacist facility. All these will enhance the competency of the pharmacists to support and guide the patients,” noted Dr Wael Ezzeldin Saeed, pharmacy affairs specialist, Operations - Clinical Operations & Support, PHCC.

According to Dr Saeed, PHCC is also studying the feasibility and effectiveness of using robots for dispensing the medicine and will seek the guidance of Hamd Medical Corporation in this regard.

“The new design of the pharmacy has made the work flow more efficient. We have six new health centres that were opened in the very recent years. At these facilities, we have more windows and we have removed the barriers. We have also separate counters for special need people,” explained Dr al-Qahtani.

“We have also integrated the services at the pharmacy too. Now patients can get the medication as well as pay at the same counter. We are also working to make awareness among the patients about the need to reduce the use of antibiotics,” continued Dr al-Qahtani.

“We have also started patient counselling as part of the enhanced pharmacy services. We have formed a patient counselling team. Especially in high-risk cases, we provide this facility. The patients are taken to the counselling room and are provided all the necessary advice the patients need. We give information about the medication and the treatment and medication plan. In some cases the follow up cases from HMC are being done at PHCC health centres with the same level of competency,” added Dr Saeed. PHCC, at present, has 26 health centres across the country.

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