The delivery service, which is offered free-of-charge until 30 June 2019, is available for patients with well-controlled medical conditions, who have been taking the same medication regularly and do not require repeated medication counselling from the pharmacist.

Patients have the option of getting their medication delivered to their home or to a PILBOX (Prescription in Locker Box) located at five SingHealth Polyclinics. In addition, SGH and KKH patients can opt to have their medication delivered to one of 18 bluPort lockers located across Singapore (see Annex A for full list of locker locations).

Delivery to lockers gives patients or caregivers the option of collecting the medication any time of day or night and is particularly useful for those who do not have someone at home to wait to receive the medication delivery. 

Medication Delivery Benefits Those on Long Term Medication 

Patients can register for the delivery service by submitting the medication delivery service sign-up form and their original prescription, to the outpatient pharmacy of the SingHealth healthcare institution which issued their prescription. When the order is verified and confirmed by the pharmacist, payment can be made online or at the payment kiosk and the medication will be packed and delivered to the patient within three working days. 

Once registered for the delivery service, patients can call the outpatient pharmacy or use the Health Buddy mobile app for their subsequent medication refill requests (see Annex B). 

“The service will benefit patients who are prescribed long-term medications, for example those with well-controlled high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes. After seeing the doctor, instead of collecting their medication at our outpatient pharmacy, these patients can skip the queue by signing up for the medication delivery service and opting for their medication to be delivered,” said Mr Lim Mun Moon, Director of Pharmacy, Singapore General Hospital. 

“Patients and their caregivers can also use the Health Buddy mobile app at their own convenience, to learn more about their medication and set reminders to take the right medication at the right time. These initiatives are part of ongoing efforts by our pharmacists to empower patients with the medication literacy they need to manage their health,” said Ms Irene Quay, Head, Pharmacy, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.   

In addition, patients who have rescheduled their doctor’s appointment at the specialist outpatient clinics to a later date and do not have sufficient medication to last till the new appointment date, can request for a top-up prescription via the Health Buddy mobile app. Once the request for top-up prescription is reviewed and issued by the doctor, the patient will be contacted and can choose to request for the medication to be delivered. 

Medication Info at Your Fingertips 

To find out more about the medication they have been prescribed, patients and their caregivers can use the Health Buddy mobile app to access information of over 300 commonly prescribed medications. This is aimed at improving medication literacy by providing useful information such as dosage, side effects, precautions and storage instructions of the medication. Patients can also use Health Buddy to set reminders to alert them when they need to take their medication (see Annex C).