Thiruvananthapuram Medical College’s Integrated Pharmacy Counter Emerges as a National Model
An Integrated Pharmacy Counter has been set up at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College to ease access to medicines for patients. The facility, which enables beneficiaries of various health insurance schemes to access free medicines from a single location, is being implemented for the first time in the state. The initiative addresses a major practical difficulty faced by patients and their attendants at the Medical College.
The decision to bring all pharmacy services under one umbrella was taken following complaints that insurance beneficiaries were forced to visit multiple pharmacy counters to obtain medicines. In many cases, if a particular medicine was unavailable at one counter, patients had to move from one location to another merely to obtain verification or a seal. To resolve this issue, the new integrated counter has been launched near the old casualty block at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.
The Integrated Pharmacy Counter brings together multiple agencies and institutions empanelled for medicine distribution at a single point. Services from the Main Store, Community Pharmacy, Karunya Pharmacy and HLL are available at this counter, supported by a unified billing system. The facility operates round the clock, allowing insurance beneficiaries to collect medicines at any time. Patients benefit greatly from being able to obtain free medicines adjacent to the insurance counter, without having to navigate different parts of the hospital campus.
Kerala continues to uphold its reputation as the state providing the highest volume of free medical treatment in the country. Through schemes such as the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP), Karunya Benevolent Fund and Arogya Kiranam, the government has delivered free medical treatment worth ₹8,425 crore to around 25 lakh people over the past five years. This includes medicines worth ₹3,500 crore distributed through the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL).
Medical colleges across the state serve as the primary hubs of this people-centric healthcare approach. Over the past five years alone, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College has provided free treatment worth ₹535.35 crore to the public. The integrated pharmacy counter reflects the government’s effort to expand treatment facilities and provide quicker, easier access to healthcare for everyone.
