Question NW1099 to the Minister of Health
18 June 2020 - NW1099
Ismail, Ms H to ask the Minister of Health
(1)What is the current average collection rate of medication at all public health facilities in each province; (2) in view of the fact that patients with tuberculosis and/or HIV/Aids are more susceptible to the coronavirus, what measures will his department put in place to (a) trace patients who have defaulted on their medication because of the lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 and (b) assist in the distribution of the medication in each province?
Reply:
(1) There is variability in the average medicine collection rates overtime, taking into consideration public holidays and the number of months supplied to patients on chronic medication at various facilities. Based on the information available to the National Department of Health, the average rate of collection for the first four months of 2020 is depicted in the table below:
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
April* |
|
|
National |
89.9% |
92.6% |
86.7% |
84.8% |
|
Eastern Cape |
94.5% |
94.4% |
87.8% |
87.0% |
|
Free State |
94.6% |
96.9% |
87.0% |
75.9% |
|
Gauteng |
91.0% |
96.2% |
86.1% |
81.6% |
|
KwaZulu Natal |
92.3% |
94.4% |
88.0% |
85.5% |
|
Limpopo |
95.3% |
96.2% |
88.4% |
81.5% |
|
Mpumalanga |
93.1% |
97.2% |
91.8% |
87.5% |
|
North West |
95.6% |
96.1% |
83.1% |
85.6% |
|
Northern Cape |
94.5% |
93.4% |
77.1% |
78.9% |
2. (a) Tracing of patients who defaulted on their medication
- Tracking and tracing (telephonically and in-person) of clients lost to follow-up is ongoing in the majority of our facilities. District supporting partners and Community Health Workers (CHWs) assist with community tracking and tracing of patients; a list of missed appointments is drawn weekly from Tier.Net and those who missed appointments are contacted via SMS (by District support partners) and in some cases are delivered to patients directly;
- The Department of Health has developed messaging for People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and people living with TB regarding the importance of treatment. These various messages have been circulated to clients through SMS and social media;
- The Adherence Guidelines SOP also provide the procedure to track and trace patients who defaulted.
(b) Distribution of medicines in each province
- The Department of Health has been implementing the Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) programme, a National Department of Health (NDoH) initiative to improve access to chronic medicines to stable patients by enabling them to collect their repeat medicines prescriptions from a convenient collection point near their home or place of employment.
- Eligible patients (i.e. stable on treatment) on ARVs and other chronic medication collect their medicines for free from a convenient contracted pick-up point such as Dis-Chem, Clicks, Pick-n-Pay, Pharmacy, or even a local Spaza shop. The majority of these service providers have been open during the National lockdown, allowing clients to collect their treatment without interruption.
- In health facilities, before and during the lockdown, all stable patients are given two months TEE supply and three months TLD supply of ARVs.
- The Department of Health has also strengthened in-facility processes and support to PLHIV on ART in order to maintain adherence.
- For TB patients, the Department of Health has made arrangements for home delivery of TB medicines by Community Health Workers. The Community Health Workers also collect sputum from patients who require follow up testing.
END.