Qatar: Medication home delivery service sees increase in usage
Doha, Qatar: Medication home delivery, a relatively new service introduced in Qatar's healthcare sector, continues to benefit an increasing number of people, with high levels of satisfaction reported by users.
In 2024, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) home delivery services dispatched nearly 60,000 items.
The home delivery service, operated by Qatar Post in partnership with HMC and PHCC, delivers medications, medical reports, medical consumables, and dietary products.
According to reported data, HMC's medication home delivery service dispatched 56,436 items in 2024, while PHCC delivered 2,223 items over seven months in the same year.
Launched in April 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the service continued due to positive feedback from patients. A fee of QR30 is charged for the service.
A study published in October 2024 in BMJ Medical Journal highlighted the satisfaction and preferences of patients who used the new home delivery services offered by PHCC's health centres during the pandemic.
The study involved 604 adults who used the medication delivery services. Participants were asked to rate their satisfaction with 11 service aspects on a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 meant 'highly dissatisfied' and 5 meant 'highly satisfied.' The scores were aggregated and adjusted to a maximum of 100 for clarity.
Results showed that 45.5% of participants were very satisfied with the service quality. Additionally, 58.9% would recommend the service to others, though only 30.9% considered the delivery cost to be reasonable. Satisfaction levels varied, with Qatari nationals reporting an average satisfaction score of 89%, compared to 79.5% for expatriates.
To access the HMC medication home delivery service, patients should call 16000 between 8am and 2pm daily, from Sunday to Thursday.
To access the PHCC medication home delivery service, patients can call the designated number for their health centre or 16000 for more information. They can also contact their health centre via WhatsApp, with the number available on the PHCC website.
Items will be delivered within two days of the request.
Patients must present a valid health card, a payment card for medications/items and delivery fees, and be aware of their house and street address. This service is available across the country to all patients.
© Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing and Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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