Starting Today, COVID-19 Patients Can Pick Up Prescription Medicine Directly at Pharmacies

Compliance with Infection Prevention Guidelines Required When Visiting Pharmacies
'Face-to-Face Medication Management Fee' Set at 6,020 Won

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Starting from the 6th, even COVID-19 confirmed patients undergoing home treatment can visit pharmacies in person to receive prescribed medications.

Park Hyang, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, stated in a briefing that "(From today) pharmacies can deliver prescribed medications face-to-face to patients themselves while adhering to infection prevention guidelines."

Until now, when home-treated patients received non-face-to-face medical consultations, it was standard for family members, acquaintances, or proxies to collect medications or have them delivered by courier. However, the health authorities explained that with the recent recognition of positive results from professional rapid antigen tests as confirmed cases and the significant expansion of face-to-face consultations for home-treated patients, the demand for face-to-face medication receipt has increased.

Accordingly, from today, when COVID-19 confirmed patients visit pharmacies with prescriptions after medical consultations, pharmacies will receive the prescriptions and directly provide the medications and medication guidance to the patients. Depending on the situation, medication guidance can also be provided via phone.

If requested by the confirmed patient, medical institutions can send prescriptions to pharmacies in advance via fax or email. In such cases, the patient or their proxy must submit the original prescription to the pharmacy.

For infection control, pharmacists must wear KF94 or higher-grade masks. Disposable gloves may be used if necessary, or outdoor spaces can be utilized. Park emphasized, "To minimize waiting times for patients visiting pharmacies, they can wait in separate areas or outside the pharmacy, maintain a distance of at least 1 meter, and receive medications through storage boxes," adding, "Please minimize conversations as much as possible and cooperate well with the pharmacy's quarantine management."

Meanwhile, as compensation for pharmacies due to the face-to-face medication delivery to COVID-19 confirmed patients, health authorities decided to pay pharmacies a 'face-to-face medication management fee.' This will be retroactively applied from prescriptions dispensed on the 4th, with the amount set at 6,020 KRW per patient.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.