Pharmacist’s role in helping combat HIV and AIDS in South Africa.
Pharmacies and pharmacists play a vital role in ending the HIV epidemic. Pharmacies are widespread and accessible in nearly every urban and rural community across South Africa. Pharmacists are trusted health care professionals who are trained to provide expert medication advice as part of the pharmaceutical care they deliver.
Pharmacies are more than only access points for medicines.
This World AIDS Day, 1 December 2022, The National Department of Health and UNAIDS are urging each of us to address the inequalities which are holding back the progress in ending the HIV / AIDS epidemic.
Given the role pharmacists play in their community, and the convenience of having access to primary healthcare services at a local pharmacy, makes for a strong argument that all pharmacists, should not only focus on primary healthcare services, but should expand the services offered.
If the first inequality we want to mitigate is access to healthcare, then the pharmacist providing more primary healthcare services, bridges that gap perfectly. From screening, testing, counselling, specimen collection, referral to a doctor for treatment and then ensuring adherence for the HIV/ AIDS treatment regimen. The pharmacy is central in this circle of care.
Allegra supports Pharmacists with digital solutions that enable them to offer pharmaceutical care, including primary healthcare services that add to the bottom line, all on one platform. Technology that supports the pharmacist diversifying from a mainly product driven income stream to become more service orientated.
There are roughly 5.5 million people receiving treatment for HIV, and 8 million people living with the virus in this country. Every single one of these patients will require blood work, medication and education.
To achieve the 90-90-90 target where 90% of people living with HIV know their status, 90% of people who know they are HIV positive are on antiretroviral therapy and 90% of people on antiretroviral therapy achieve a viral load that is undetectable, we need to take hands and optimally utilize all healthcare providers and facilities, including pharmacies. Allegra’s pharmacy software is simple to operate and supports all the requirements for a pharmacy to deliver end-to-end care to patients including patients with HIV /AIDS.
One platform simplifies the workflow in dispensary to include standardized primary health care services, including documented HIV screening results, electronic medication records, VirtualCare for remote consultations and a touch screen point of sale.
"If you currently don’t have pharmacy software that is built to support you as a pharmacist, then contact Allegra Healthcare management today."
