Jalan Oya Health Clinic’s new drive-thru pharmacy can help reduce daily patient load at health clinics by 30 pct

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Dr Annuar explains to a patient on prescription at drive-through pharmacy at Jalan Oya Health Clinic, Sibu.

SIBU (Mar 1): The new drive-through pharmacy at Jalan Oya Health Clinic here costing RM45,000 will reduce the daily patient load by some 30 per cent at the state’s busiest health clinic, said Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing Dr Annuar Rapaee.

Dr Annuar, who is also Assistant Minister for Education, Science and Technological Research, said he was made to understand that Jalan Oya Health Clinic handles about 1,000 patients daily.

“The advantages of having this drive-through are many and easing the congestion at this clinic is among them.

“The intention here is to reduce the daily patient load by 30 per cent or 300 people as we want to
provide a convenient alternative to the standard method of collecting medicine at the clinic.

“So, I think this concept should also be extended to other busy clinics like Lanang Health Clinic,” Dr Annuar told reporters after launching the Jalan Oya Health Clinic’s drive-through pharmacy here today.

This is the second of such facility after the one in Sibu Hospital.

The Nangka assemblyman pointed out that the drive-through will enable patients to collect their medication faster and in a convenient manner as they need not wait inside the clinic.

At this juncture, Senator Robert Lau chipped in, saying that Health Minister Dr Adham Baba who visited the clinic last year, likened the patient load to that of a hospital.

Meanwhile, according to Sibu Divisional Health Office, the budget was approved by the Health Mint during his visit last year.

On this, DHO expressed its appreciation to Dr Adham and his deputy Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang.

It added: “This drive-through part of our effort to decongest the clinic including rental of satellite clinic and renovations at clinic Oya itself. But most importantly to teach customer new norms and to follow appointment system.”

Meanwhile, the operating hours from Mondays to Thursdays are from 8.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 4.30pm while on Fridays they are open from 8.30am to 11.45am and 2.15pm to 4.30pm

It is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

In a press release distributed to the media, it stated that the drive-through is a new value-added service at Jalan Oya Health Clinic’s pharmacy.

It added that in 2020, the pharmacy unit at Jalan Oya Health Clinic received 180,276 prescriptions, where 51 per cent that is 92,610 were follow up prescriptions with an average 350 follow up prescriptions daily. This has contributed to the congestion at the clinic.

The drive-through offered to tackle the problems faced by patients to obtain their follow up medication such as difficulty in obtaining parking space, congestion at the clinic’s pharmacy counter and long waiting time.

Patients with follow up medicine prescription need to register with Jalan Oya Health Clinic Pharmacy for such facility.

Upon successful registration, patients will be given a drive-through pharmacy card.

The appointment to obtain the medication agreed will be fixed.

For more information on the drive-through pharmacy, call 084-323355 ext 121 or 013 815 9608 or come personally to meet the pharmacy staff at Jalan Oya Health Clinic.

Among those present were Sibu Resident Charles Siaw and Jalan Oya Health Clinic pharmacist Chang Poh Yin