Non-serious coronavirus patients to get support at pharmacies.
 
Asymptomatic and mild-symptom COVID-19 patients can request support, including free medicines and consultations, from pharmacies as part of the new initiative to increase Thai people’s access to care.
 
The initiative is a result of a collaboration between the National Health Security Office (NHSO) and the Pharmacy Council of Thailand (PCT).
 
Dr. Jadej Thammatacharee, the NHSO Secretary-General, said this initiative had engaged more than 700 pharmacy operators partnering with the NHSO.
 
The pharmacists under the initiative will provide free medicines and consultations to asymptomatic or mild-symptom patients isolated at home. The NHSO will cover the costs incurred from supporting those patients — 700 baht for each patient receiving support from a pharmacist.
 
The fund covers the consultation fee, medicines (including green chiretta capsules and anti-flu drug), hours spent on monitoring patients, and transportation fee if the patients’ symptoms worsen. 
 

Starting in early Mar, the initiative is part of the Ministry of Public Health’s policy to increase asymptomatic and mild patients’ access to care. Anyone who tested positive can request care from hospitals’ outpatient departments and pharmacies by joining the NHSO-PCT initiative.  
 
The COVID-19 patients will be monitored by pharmacists in the first 48 hours after they visit the pharmacies. If their conditions worsen, pharmacists will contact the hospital staff, who will pick up the patients and put them in intensive care.
 
The pharmacy operators joining the initiative will present stickers titled “the network of volunteer pharmacists for COVID-19 distant consultations” in front of their stores.
 
Preecha Bhandtivej, Vice President of the Pharmacy Council of Thailand (PCT), said that using pharmacies as access points to care for non-serious cases would help reduce hospital crowding.
 
The NHSO and PCT have set criteria for eligible patients receiving support at pharmacies to ensure the patients' safety. The patients must not age over 60, be pregnant women and bed-ridden patients, and have health risk factors, including obesity.
 
“[The patients] can be confident when consulting with the pharmacists, who have extensive knowledge in medicine and the coronavirus. They can provide patients with excellent care,” said Preecha.  
 
However, only Thai patients under the Universal Coverage Scheme, Civil Servants Medical Benefits, and local administrative organizations’ healthcare schemes can request support under the initiative.
 
Preecha encourages Social Security Office, overseeing Social Security Scheme that covers 16 million workers, to join the initiative which will provide channels for their beneficiaries to access quick support.


 
Dr Athaporn Limpanyalers, the NHSO Deputy Secretary-General, said that the NHSO had implement patients’ identification system to record and track their health condition. 
 
Patients must show their identification cards to pharmacists, who will record the patients’ request for support and their symptoms in AMED Telehealth — a software developed by Assistive Technology and Medical Devices Research Center(A-MED), the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA).
 
These records are evidence used by the NHSO’s claim process. The transactions will be made directly to the pharmacy operators’ bank accounts. 
 
“Our reimbursement system is transparent and trustable,” said Dr Athaporn.