Medicine to your doorstep: Hong Kong health authorities to launch prescription home delivery service for specialist outpatient clinics later this month
- Health authorities to launch medicine home delivery service for specialist outpatient clinics
- New service will cost HK$65 and be open to patients aged 18 or older who use some outpatient services
About 20,000 patients a day at Hong Kong public hospitals can opt to have their prescription medicine delivered to their doorsteps after specialist consultations by the end of the year, health authorities have said.
The new service, which will cost HK$65 (US$8) per delivery, was introduced to help cut waiting times at hospital pharmacies.
Patients aged 18 or older who visit specialist outpatient services will be able to use the delivery service, which will start at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam and Tseung Kwan O Hospital in Kowloon on May 15.
Benjamin Lee Shing-cheung, the Health Authority’s chief pharmacist, said it had started a Covid-19 medicine delivery service during the fifth wave of the pandemic last year, which provided “precious experience” for expansion of the scheme.
“We hope to optimise our pharmacy services and offer our patients an additional choice of obtaining their medicines … we also wish to help with the development of telemedicine services and improve patients’ experience,” Lee said.