Irish digital pharmacy to save medical card holders up to €180 annually

Healthwave, Ireland’s leading digital pharmacy service, has introduced a zero-cost medical card service that will save Ireland’s 1.5m medical cardholders up to €180 annually.

For the first time, Medical Cardholders will not be charged the €1.50 government fee per medication, capped at €180 annually, with Healthwave Digital Pharmacy electing to absorb the cost. Additionally, they will be able to avail of free Healthwave Digital Pharmacy membership, which includes access to 24 / 7 pharmacy consultations, free innovative PillPods medication sorting service, zero dispensing fees, and the free delivery of prescriptions nationwide.

In Ireland over 1.5 million people have Medical Card eligibility through the General Medical Services Scheme. In 2019, prescription charges of €85.33m, paid by medical cardholders, were recouped by the HSE from pharmacies in Ireland.

Founder and Managing Director of Healthwave, Shane O’Sullivan, said, “Patients eligible for the Medical Cards are often low-income earners while those over 70s are most vulnerable when it comes to COVID. Our new free Medical Card plan allows patients to remain at home while continuing to get their monthly medications free of charge. Being a digital pharmacy, patients and carers also have access to our clinical team of pharmacists from their phone 7 days a week. We are delighted to be able to offer this service at no cost. The cap of €15 per month might not seem like much to some people but it could impact the grocery or transportation budget of those less well off.”

Healthwave is launching this initiative in response to long-standing calls and recommendations, from healthcare providers in Ireland, for the State to remove prescription fee levies, and in reaction to imminent competitive developments from providers across Europe.

In Healthwave, medical cardholders are on an average of 3.5 monthly medications, with those over 70 averaging 6 medications. The PillPods service offered free by Healthwave is ideally suited to those on large numbers of medications and removes the need to sort and remember individual pills for both patients and carers alike.

O’Sullivan added, “Technology and centralised dispensing hubs open up the possibilities for the Government to look at new models delivering care in the home for Irish patients. Healthwave Digital Pharmacy is a successful example of what can be achieved economically and socially through smart technology solutions, operating a centralised pharmacy hub staffed with a clinical pharmacist team, all the while reflecting cost savings in the prices charged to patients.” 

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FYI the ROI for you is => Irish Tech News now gets over 1.5 million monthly views, and up to 900k monthly unique visitors, from over 160 countries. We have over 860,000 relevant followers on Twitter on our various accounts & were recently described as Ireland’s leading online tech news site and Ireland’s answer to TechCrunch, so we can offer you a good audience!

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