Shanghai Yangpu's 'Special Medication Delivery Squad' Files IPO Prospectus After Serving Thousands of Critically Ill and Chronically Diseased Patients

“With you in Shanghai, we will surely overcome this difficulty!” After delivering the last batch of medicines for the morning in Yangpu District, Luo Liang (pseudonym) received a WeChat message from a patient, which instantly warmed his heart.

It was already 2 p.m. To avoid the hassle of doffing and donning his bulky protective suit, he had not taken a single sip of water since leaving home in the morning, leaving him both hungry and thirsty. Amid the pandemic, most roadside restaurants were closed; the few that remained open had already passed their meal service hours.

“Are you a volunteer from our Yangpu District?” Just as Luo Liang was feeling somewhat disheartened, an enthusiastic shopkeeper called out to him. Upon receiving a confirmed response, the shopkeeper immediately took out a meal prepared for his own family and served it to Luo Liang, saying, “It’s home-cooked food; please don’t mind.” At that moment, Luo Liang felt a sting of emotion welling up in his nose.

Luo Liang is an ordinary resident of Yangpu District in Shanghai. When the epidemic disrupted his peaceful life, he began working from home. However, as a professional in the healthcare industry, his occupational sensitivity quickly alerted him to a phenomenon: as many “white-clad angels” devoted themselves to the fight against the epidemic, medical resources became strained, and disruptions in pharmaceutical distribution left many patients facing difficulties in accessing consultations and medications. “This is particularly critical for patients with severe chronic conditions; any interruption in medication supply can lead to thorny problems.”

Always warm-hearted, he voluntarily joined a volunteer team in Yangpu District called the “Medicine Supply Assurance Team.” Their primary responsibility is to provide medication delivery services, with a focus on residents in Yangpu District suffering from severe chronic diseases, through the “Shanghai Medical Insurance Emergency Medicine Platform.”

Despite some mental preparation, the “arduous” nature of the work still exceeded his expectations. Every day, he faced a massive volume of patient medication requests. Due to limited staffing in the “Medication Supply Assurance Team,” he and his colleagues were responsible not only for delivery but also for the entire workflow, including warehouse retrieval and medication sorting. After picking medications from the warehouse, they worked overnight to sort the next day’s deliveries by area. Early the following morning, they loaded the medications onto delivery vehicles and set out at dawn to various streets and communities in Yangpu District. By the time they completed their deliveries and returned to their closed-loop managed residences, it was often well past midnight.

Although the work is busy and demanding, Luo Liang finds his efforts worthwhile and takes pleasure in them, knowing that behind every medication order are anxious patients and their families. Moreover, he has found a group of like-minded “comrades-in-arms.”

“Doing my part to ensure effective medication delivery and patient satisfaction brings me joy.” These words come from Old Xia, a retiree. Financially secure and originally enjoying a leisurely retirement at home, he joined the volunteer team during the pandemic. Despite being the oldest member of the group, his physical stamina rivals that of younger volunteers. He works with great dedication and, leveraging his familiarity with Shanghai’s neighborhoods, achieves one of the highest delivery efficiencies in his team.

Pingping is a young woman who loves beauty, yet she performs her duties as a “food delivery rider” with no less dedication. As evening approached 8 p.m., she was still delivering an urgently needed thymopentin injection to a patient who had undergone surgery for malignant thyroid tumor. After driving alone for over 50 minutes, she finally arrived at the patient’s residential community and handed over the medication. Exhausted, she had just returned to her closed-loop management accommodation when she resumed her work in sorting and distribution. Opening WeChat, she noticed that a patient attempted to transfer a “errand fee” of 50 yuan. After she politely declined, the patient sent a simple yet heartfelt message: “Hope you eat well, sleep well, and take care!”

“During the pandemic, people with pre-existing conditions are in greater need of assistance than the healthy population. They require not only basic daily necessities but also essential medications. Therefore, we have come together to help them to the best of our abilities,” said Chunyan, Volunteer No. 001 of this “special task force” and one of the earliest participants in the delivery of guaranteed medical supplies. She recalled that when she first began delivering medications in Yangpu District, she handled over a hundred medication orders per day, often skipping meals and not returning to her residence until 3 or 4 a.m.

What brings her joy now is that, with the addition of Luo Liang, Lao Xia, Pingping, and others, the volunteer team for ensuring medicine supply is growing stronger. With Yangpu District as its “base,” the team has become one of the most important medication delivery forces for the “Shanghai Medical Insurance and Medicine Platform.” In just a few days, they have completed medication deliveries to over 1,000 patients with severe chronic diseases in Yangpu District.

It is reported that the “Shanghai Medical Insurance and Emergency Drug Platform” was initially established by the Shanghai Digital Medicine Innovation Center, WeDoctor, Ruijin Hospital, and other medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies. Currently, the platform is mobilizing thousands of experts and physicians from major hospitals across Shanghai and nationwide to provide online consultations, follow-up visits with medication purchases, drug delivery, and health management services to patients with severe chronic diseases throughout Shanghai.

“The medication has been received. Thank you so much!” “Full of positive energy! Your actions have made us patients feel warmth—this is the compassion Shanghai should embody.” Such heartfelt expressions of gratitude from patients allow volunteers to genuinely feel their sense of being needed, which serves as their greatest source of motivation. “There is substantial demand for medications among patients, while delivery capacity remains relatively limited.” Chunyan has consistently called on more citizens to join the volunteer ranks, thereby extending assistance to a greater number of patients in Yangpu District and across Shanghai.