The Regional Secretary for Health announced yesterday that the first pharmacies providing single dose medicines will open at the Angra do Heroísmo and Ponta Delgada hospitals in January, thus reducing costs with medicines.

During his speech in the debate on the Regional Plan and Budget for 2012, Miguel Correia said that all patients when receiving treatment at the hospital will only pay the amount of medicine they actually need, thus saving more than 10 % in all medicines.

Moreover, the medicines will always be available at the more affordable price in order to further reduce the costs for patients.

"This is a bold measure nationwide and a hallmark of the regional health policy that will bring great benefit to the Azorean people," said Secretary for Health.

Miguel Correia also announced that the patient travel services will be reorganised in order to shorten the time patients spend outside their islands receiving  medical care and, if possible, make the necessary arrangements so that all medical acts, whether diagnostics, consultations or surgeries, may take place in the same trip. 

With regard to opiate replacement treatment, another van will enter into operation on the island of São Miguel, which will now have two teams, covering more municipalities and patients.  This treatment will also be implemented on the islands of Faial and Pico with the full operation of the Horta Addiction Centre. 

In recent years "we doubled the capacity of opiate replacement treatment with a strategy that has proved highly successful in monitoring and rehabilitation of many people."