By Sidi Mohamed
DOHA: Automated self-service kiosks that would vend prescription medicines at the new Women’s Hospital are likely to begin operating after a month.
The kiosks are currently functioning on an experimental basis.
According to a pharmacist at the Women’s Hospital, the pilot project for the new and novel service was launched two months ago.
In remarks to this newspaper, the pharmacist said yesterday he expected the kiosks to be operational after a month as the experiment has been successful.
Through these automated self-service kiosks, only Qatari patients would be able to access medicines, thus doing away with the need to wait in a queue at the hospital pharmacy.
At some stage in the future, the service may become available to expatriates. During the experiment, however, only medicines prescribed by a doctor of the hospital for emergency cases are available through the kiosks.
The hospital has set up three kiosks on trial, said the pharmacist. More kiosks may likely be added once the experiment is over.
If the patient has a query, he or she can dial the pharmacy from a phone hanging in the kiosk and the needed numbers will also be there. All the patient has to do is press a button to access the pharmacy phone-in service.
A Qatari said he appreciated the idea. He said it will help visitors, especially who have emergency cases, because they have no time to wait like others and that he tried one of the machines but it didn’t work. The Peninsula
