These pharmacies do not need to have licensed pharmacists

Guangxi issued a document that some areas in the province do not need to be equipped with licensed pharmacists

In Guangxi county-level areas, no licensed pharmacist is required

Recently, the Guangxi Food and Drug Administration issued the "Notice on Further Regulating the Management of the Allocation and Use of Licensed Pharmacists in Pharmaceutical Retail Enterprises" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice") to solve the current problems of insufficient allocation of licensed pharmacists in pharmaceutical retail enterprises in some regions

The notice stated that pharmaceutical retail companies that deal in prescription drugs and Category A over-the-counter drugs should have licensed pharmacists to review prescriptions and guide the use of drugs; drug retail companies that only deal in Category B over-the-counter drugs should have at least qualified personnel (have been through retail pharmacies).

It is worth noting that in order to alleviate the shortage of licensed pharmacists, uneven distribution, and difficulty in equipping licensed pharmacists in some regions, the notification requires that the policy of differentiated deployment of licensed pharmacists in some regions is implemented without reducing the overall proportion of existing licensed pharmacists.

Specifically, for the above policy, for pharmaceutical retail companies that started before January 1, 2016, sells prescription drugs and Class A over-the-counter drugs, and have not yet equipped with a licensed pharmacist to review prescriptions, they can use other pharmacy technicians who have been qualified according to law to assume the duties of a licensed pharmacist.

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It is understood that in accordance with the regulations of the relevant departments, other pharmacy technicians who have been qualified according to law include the health (pharmaceutical) series of titles (including pharmacist, pharmacist, competent pharmacist, deputy chief pharmacist, and chief pharmacist), and engineering series (pharmaceutical related fields) titles (assistant engineer, mid-level engineers, senior engineer), pharmacists and other practitioners

Practicing pharmacist, can continue to use as a licensed pharmacist

For practicing pharmacists, the notice stated that if the following 3 points are met, they can continue to be used as a licensed pharmacist:

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In addition, the deadline for practicing pharmacists to continue to be licensed pharmacists and the validity period of the certificates of practicing pharmacists who are not on the national confirmation registration list are both on December 31, 2025

The notice also emphasizes that it is necessary to intensify the investigation and rectification of the "licensing" behavior of licensed pharmacists, enter the verified "licensed" licensed pharmacists into the national licensed pharmacist registration management information system, revoke their registration certificates and expose them, and in addition, in accordance with relevant regulations Included in the credit management "blacklist"

Differentiated equipment for licensed pharmacists, implemented in many places

A review found that, in addition to Guangxi, many provinces have recently issued a "requirements for the provision of licensed pharmacists in retail pharmacies" in response to the requirements of the State Food and Drug Administration

On June 24, the Gansu Provincial Food and Drug Administration issued the “Notice on Regulating the Provision and Use of Licensed Pharmacists in Drug Retail Enterprises” stating that pharmacies in minority autonomous regions and other places in the province can use other pharmacy technicians to assume the duties of licensed pharmacists, and the transition period will expire.
December 31, 2025
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On June 21, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Food and Drug Administration issued the "Work Plan on Further Regulating the Deployment and Use of Licensed Pharmacists in Drug Retail Enterprises".
Pharmaceutical retail companies that operate prescription drugs and Class A over-the-counter drugs should be equipped with licensed pharmacists, and pharmacies that only deal with category B over-the-counter drugs may be staffed with professional personnel who have passed the examination organized by the drug regulatory authority at or above the county level
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On June 1, the Shanxi Drug Administration issued the "Notice on Further Regulating the Use of Licensed Pharmacists in Pharmaceutical Retail Enterprises (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)".
The document requires that if it is really difficult for pharmaceutical retail enterprises in towns and rural areas to allocate licensed pharmacists, they can During the set transition period, other pharmacy technicians who have been certified according to law shall be equipped to assume the duties of licensed pharmacists
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However, before December 31, 2025, all pharmaceutical retail companies in the province must be equipped with licensed pharmacists
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To attract licensed pharmacists, pharmacies need to focus on professional services

According to the certification data of licensed pharmacists from the State Food and Drug Administration, as of the end of May 2021, there were 568,000 licensed pharmacists registered in pharmaceutical retail companies
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Some people in the industry believe that, according to official data, the current number of licensed pharmacists meets market demand, but most licensed pharmacists are located in urban areas and the number is unevenly distributed
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The implementation of the "differentiated allocation of licensed pharmacists" is due to the unbalanced distribution of the number of licensed pharmacists on the one hand, and the weak professional service capabilities of China's retail pharmacies on the other hand, and the need to pay attention to the management of licensed pharmacists
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Chen Jiao, deputy director of the Licensed Pharmacist Qualification Certification Center of the State Food and Drug Administration, once publicly stated in the forum that the classification and classification management of pharmacies, the classification management of drugs, and the classification management of licensed pharmacists should be coordinated and unified.
While strictly implementing the national requirements for the provision of licensed pharmacists, Formulate a differentiated deployment policy for licensed pharmacists based on national conditions
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Chen Jiao also pointed out that the retail pharmacy industry should focus on high-quality development, improve the level of professional services, cultivate a good industry ecology, and attract more licensed pharmacists to practice in pharmacies
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In fact, a considerable part of the specialization of pharmacies is reflected in the services of licensed pharmacists
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Yang Guiyuan, president of the Gansu Licensed Pharmacists Association, also clearly stated that it is necessary to truly return licensed pharmacists to pharmaceutical services.
In order to achieve this, it is necessary to start with the income model, evaluation model, employment environment, and social status of licensed pharmacists
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