The Pharmacy service of the Hospital Doctor José Molina Orosa, in Lanzarote, attached to the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, delivers the medicines of those patients with hospital dispensing treatment at home. These measures try to avoid the displacement of many people who, due to their pathologies, should not or cannot leave the house during confinement.
This procedure has been established as a result of the declaration of the state of alarm, to manage the health crisis situation caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus and tries to avoid the displacement of chronic patients who attend the hospital pharmacy.
The measure was launched on April 6 and, through it, the Hospital Pharmacy staff contact the patients who have given their consent to receive treatment at home by telephone to inform them of the day and the schedule in which they will receive the corresponding drugs.
In the delivery tasks, the Hospital has the collaboration of the NGOs Cruz Roja and Emerlan, which have taken charge of the transport of the medication. The increase in work involved in this new dispensing mechanism has required the hiring of one more administrative assistant for the Hospital Pharmacy service.
In addition, there is “total availability” on the part of those responsible and service workers to send the medicines to practically all the towns on the island, given the exceptional circumstances that the pandemic has caused.
45 patients pending hospital services
Every day, about 45 patients with diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV, psoriasis, kidney failure, hepatitis, and pneumological and oncological diseases benefit from the possibility of receiving their medication and renewing their treatments at home.
People who, due to their illness or because they are immunosuppressed, should not leave home and to whom this new distribution mechanism avoids the risk of catching COVID-19. Likewise, the Hospital continues to provide treatment to other patients who must come to the center for different reasons such as medical consultations or because they must receive treatment at the Day Hospital.
The pharmacy of the Lanzarote hospital began with this exceptional distribution, on a voluntary basis, through the guards of the center and, later, it does so with the help of the Red Cross and Emerlan, who at the request of the center did not hesitate to collaborate with this measure and Shipments to the north and south of the island are distributed between both, as well as shipments to the capital of the province.
Directed by María del Carmen Villastrigo, the José Molina Orosa Hospital Pharmacy has a staff of 23 professionals who, over the last year, treated a total of 2,300 patients with an average of more than 800 monthly dispensations. This service is highly valued by patients and attends drug dispensing every day of the year.
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