Qingdao Eye Hospital and Yifuzhen Launch the City's First Prescription Sharing Pharmacy Platform
On the morning of September 18, the Cloud Pharmacy at the outpatient department of the Northern Branch of Qingdao Eye Hospital was officially launched. This marks the first prescription-sharing pharmacy established in Qingdao by Yi Fu Zhen, a third-party prescription sharing platform. VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Yi Fu Zhen serves as a national model for third-party prescription sharing platforms, facilitating the outflow of prescriptions from hospitals. Its collaboration with Qingdao Eye Hospital signifies the formal introduction of a standardized model for externalizing hospital prescriptions in Qingdao. By leveraging the prescription-sharing platform, seamless connectivity and information sharing between hospitals and pharmacies will be achieved, thereby better serving patients.
China’s healthcare reform is entering a critical phase, with the nationwide implementation of out-of-hospital prescription dispensing set to advance further in 2018. A series of policies have been introduced in China to encourage the circulation of prescription information through a tripartite data-sharing model that enables interconnectivity and real-time sharing among medical institutions’ prescription data, health insurance settlement records, and retail pharmaceutical consumption information.
Yi Fuzhen, under the Baiyang Pharmaceutical Group, launched China’s first third-party prescription sharing platform in Wuzhou, Guangxi, in May 2017. With multi-stakeholder participation, Wuzhou pioneered the practice of prescription information sharing, integrating over 20 secondary and tertiary hospitals and more than 100 pharmacies across the city into the prescription information sharing platform. This achieved full interconnectivity and real-time sharing among medical institutions’ prescription data, medical insurance settlement information, and retail pharmaceutical consumption data. The China Pharmaceutical Commerce Association submitted a key report to the Ministry of Commerce and relevant national healthcare security authorities on the demonstrative achievements of the “Wuzhou Model,” proposing it as a template for nationwide promotion.
The establishment of the Yi Fu Zhen third-party prescription sharing platform in Qingdao, along with its signing agreement with Qingdao Eye Hospital, is also of significant importance. Guo Zhen, Deputy Director of the Northern Campus of Qingdao Eye Hospital, stated: “Some large public Grade A tertiary hospitals in Shanghai and Beijing have already implemented the model of prescription sharing, pharmacy pickup, or direct delivery, providing considerable convenience to patients. Today, Qingdao—and indeed Shandong Province—has just taken this step. After thorough evaluation earlier this year, the hospital ultimately chose to partner with Baiyang Pharmaceutical Group”CraftedYi Fuzhen Co-Built Prescription Sharing Platform, leveraging Baiyang Group’s robust development capabilities and pharmacist prescription review expertise, has become a domestic model for pioneering initiatives in prescription sharing and the separation of prescribing from dispensing. Since the trial operation of the cloud pharmacy at the Northern Campus began in early September, the proportion of external prescriptions has continued to rise. Currently, all of the top 40 most frequently prescribed medications in the outpatient formulary are available at partner pharmacies outside the hospital. As collaboration deepens, the drug formulary will continue to expand.
At the launch ceremony, Baiyang Health Pharmacy and Tongrentang Pharmacy were among the first to receive authorization as partner pharmacies for the Prescription Sharing Platform. According to reports, the Yifuzhen third-party prescription sharing platform directly interfaces with hospital Hospital Information Systems (HIS). During in-person consultations, physicians may issue external prescriptions based on patient needs. After review and approval by hospital pharmacists, these prescriptions are uploaded to the platform, which immediately sends patients an SMS containing medication details. Patients can then choose any affiliated pharmacy on the platform to purchase their medications offline. Upon verifying the patient’s prescription information, the pharmacy prints the prescription and completes the sale.
Furthermore, pharmacies listed on the Yifuzhen third-party prescription sharing platform must not price medications procured by local hospitals higher than the hospitals’ selling prices. “Only with fair pricing will consumers be willing to purchase from these outlets,” stated Ma Guanglei. He emphasized that the drug supply at partner pharmacies on the platform must be homogeneous with that of hospital pharmacies; regardless of whether patients purchase medications through platform-affiliated pharmacies or hospital pharmacies, the types and quality of the drugs remain identical.
In addition to economic incentives, the process of prescription outflow must also ensure convenience for patients when purchasing medications. To address this, Yi Fuzhen offers the following solution: When the platform sends prescription information to patients, it simultaneously provides information on pharmacies that can fulfill their purchase needs, allowing patients to freely choose any pharmacy for their purchase. “It is worth noting that, leveraging the ecological distribution capabilities of Baiyang Pharmaceutical Group, residents in Qingdao will soon be able to enjoy the convenient ‘online order, store delivery’ service provided by Baiyang Health Pharmacy with just a single click,” said Ma Guanglei.
“A successful prescription outflow model must comply with policy regulations and the operational rules of hospitals and pharmacies, achieving a win-win outcome for all stakeholders through a step-by-step approach,” Ma Guanglei once stated.
Regarding the “standardization” of the prescription outflow model, specifically, the primary concern is ensuring the authenticity of follow-up consultation information. Hospitals provide authentic and reasonable prescriptions, enabling controllable regulatory oversight through a prescription sharing platform. The platform’s integration with pharmacies’ inventory management systems ensures the authenticity of sales records. Additionally, patients purchasing medications using SMS verification codes further guarantees patient authenticity.
Meanwhile, the Yifuzhen third-party prescription sharing platform maintains stringent criteria for selecting partner pharmacies. In accordance with national regulations, it collaborates with hospitals to establish evaluation standards for pharmacies, primarily covering supply chain scale, level of informatization, and service capability. Pharmacies may apply to join the platform on a voluntary basis and are jointly verified by the hospital and the platform; those failing the verification process are not permitted to join the prescription sharing platform.
Following the onboarding of pharmacies, the platform will conduct dynamic performance evaluations based on patient feedback. Furthermore, in cases of non-compliant operations, the platform will perform integrity assessments on the offending pharmacies; those failing to meet the standards will be required to withdraw from the platform.
The Yifuzhen third-party prescription sharing platform operates on the premise of “compliance,” with the goal of “benefiting the public” and “security” as its guarantee. It has achieved clear delineation of “responsibilities, rights, and interests,” realizing a “win-win” outcome. Ma Guanglei stated, “Hospitals provide authentic and reasonable prescriptions. Through prescription sharing, drug operational costs are reduced, enabling controllable regulation of the ‘separation of prescribing and dispensing.’ Pharmacies ensure genuine and rational sales, gaining significant incremental volume from outflowed prescriptions, which helps build their brand. The third-party prescription sharing platform provides technical and security support to ensure sustained operations.”
Built on high-standard specifications, the Yifuzhen third-party prescription sharing platform has demonstrated strong replicability. It has already been fully launched in multiple provinces and cities, including Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Qingdao, Hunan, Hebei, and Guangdong, with plans for nationwide expansion in the future.