Public Health Ministry in Thailand flags off health riders to deliver meds to patients at home
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The health riders will deliver prescribed medicine to patients who are bedridden or find it difficult to go to hospitals or pharmacies.
PHOTO: THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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NAN, Thailand – After a successful test run over the past few months, volunteer “health riders” in Thailand will now be able to deliver medicine to patients at home.
Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew, who launched the service on March 18, said the health riders will initially serve “30-baht Plus” universal healthcare beneficiaries in 32 provinces.
The 30-baht Plus healthcare scheme, in which Thai nationals need to present only their national identification to receive treatment anywhere, is restricted to some provinces, though the Public Health Ministry plans to expand it nationwide soon. The service is not available in Bangkok yet.
The “health rider” service was launched during a ceremony marking the Day of Village Public Health Volunteers at Pua School in Nan province’s Pua district.
Public Health permanent secretary Opas Karnkawinpong, Nan deputy governor Theva Panyaboon and some 2,600 village health volunteers were also present during the ceremony.
At the ceremony, Dr Cholnan handed out awards to outstanding health volunteers in the north of Thailand and in the country’s Health Areas 1, 2 and 3.
Health riders from all 15 districts of Nan province were also given new uniforms. Dr Cholnan said the health riders fall under the telepharmacy services under the 30-baht Plus scheme.
The health riders will deliver prescribed medicines to patients who are bedridden or find it difficult to go to hospitals or pharmacies, Dr Cholnan said.
The minister added that a test run of the service had been conducted in some provinces since December 2023. In Nan, 14 hospitals have been using a network of 78 health riders to deliver medicine to patients within a 15km radius of hospitals.
From December 2023 to March 14, 2024, 2,796 orders were fulfilled, and the service has helped reduce queues for medicine in hospitals by 14 per cent daily, Dr Cholnan said.
As at March 14, some 184 hospitals and public health clinics had fulfilled 44,174 prescriptions with a network of 1,414 health riders.
According to a Public Health Ministry survey, 99.2 per cent of the patients said they were happy with the delivery time, and up to 99.2 per cent said they were glad they did not have to visit a hospital to fill their prescriptions.
Dr Cholnan said health volunteers and other hospital personnel who want to be health riders can register for a “provider ID” under the 30-baht Plus scheme. This, he said, will help volunteers earn extra funds.
The ministry is also looking into using the services of private logistics firms, such as Global Jet Express, Grab, Robinhood, Line Man, SCG Logistics and Kerry Express, as well as Thailand Post, to deliver medicine, Dr Cholnan added. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
