HKUMed Launches Hong Kong’s First University Community Pharmacy To Advance Primary Healthcare
Primary Care and OTC
HKPJ VOL 31 NO 3 Sep-Dec 2024 (2025-01-26): P.76
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The HKUMed Community Pharmacy, the first community pharmacy established by a local university, under the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy of the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has commenced operation on 11 November, 2024. It is situated in the HKUMed Academic Building on 3 Sassoon Road, adjacent to Queen Mary Hospital. Managed by the Department's pharmacists, the Community Pharmacy serves as a platform for interprofessional healthcare services and research. Providing comprehensive primary healthcare services and complying with the ‘prevention-oriented and community-based’ strategies, it will strengthen primary healthcare services in Hong Kong and empower the public to get involved in self-health management.
Grand Launching Ceremony with Officiating Guests
Photo 1. Grand opening cermony with officiating guests
Photo 2. Guests visit HKUmed community pharmacy
The grand opening ceremony was officiated by Dr Libby Lee Ha-yun, Under Secretary for Health, the Health Bureau, HKSAR Government; Dr Donald Li Kwok-tung, Chairman of the Elderly Commission; Dr Manny Lam Man-chung, Acting Assistant Director (Elderly Health), Department of Health; Dr Pang Fei-chau, Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, the Health Bureau; Professor Chak-sing Lau, Vice-President & Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Health) and Dean of Medicine, HKU; and Professor Ian Wong Chi-kei, from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, HKUMed. The officiating guests and other representatives from Health Bureau and HKU also visited the pharmacy.
Role of HKUMed Community Pharmacy in pharmacy education, research and services
The HKUMed Community Pharmacy aims to establish a sustainable operational model that integrates interprofessional teaching, research and services, while strengthening the role of pharmacists in community and primary healthcare and alleviating the burden on hospitals and the entire healthcare system. The initiative is one of the core development strategies of HKUMed's Comprehensive Primary Healthcare Collaboratory.
Establishing community pharmacies was a pivotal initiative in the 2024 Policy Address on primary healthcare development. This innovative project will serve as a key platform for primary healthcare education and provide the community with comprehensive health-related services, including disease prevention, chronic disease and minor ailment management, medication consultation, care and treatment, which in turn, will empower the public to manage their own health and prevent diseases. Pharmacists at the HKUMed Community Pharmacy will enhance medication compliance through consultation, provide personalised medication counselling, and monitor and collect data on adverse drug reactions and effectiveness as part of their drug dispensing and reconciliation service for the reference of family doctors. They can also provide data and expert opinions in collaborative research and facilitate research on related diseases.
Professor Ian Wong Chi-kei said, ‘Through establishing the HKUMed Community Pharmacy, we aim to extend our interprofessional education programmes to more community pharmacies and District Health Centres (DHCs), setting a benchmark for future primary healthcare education and services. To align with the government's community pharmacy programme in the 2024 Policy Address, based on the treatment plan set by doctors, pharmacists can evaluate their prescribing patterns and patients' use of medication and collaborate with DHCs in developing a community drug formulary. By sharing practical experience and insights with allied healthcare professionals, pharmacists can drive further interprofessional cooperation, leading primary healthcare services and education to scale new heights.’
Interprofessional Education Model at the Pharmacy
Through its pioneering Interprofessional Education (IPE) Model, HKUMed is committed to nurturing students with diverse knowledge and skills. The HKUMed Community Pharmacy provides a novel environment for pharmacy students to engage in practice and learning. Led by the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, this IPE model seeks to strengthen collaboration with the School of Clinical Medicine and the School of Nursing, enhancing students' clinical skills and interprofessional collaboration, thus enabling them to excel in primary healthcare services.
Author’s background
Cynthia Wu obtained her Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm), then further completed her Master of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). With her past experience in running a non-profit making community pharmacy and her passion in teaching, Cynthia has led her team of pharmacy student assistants in establishing the first university campus teaching community pharmacy, HKUMed Community Pharmacy. The pharmacy is located on the Sassoon Road campus as an on-site teaching community pharmacy. Not only is it the dedicated teaching site for pharmacy students but is also an in-house training site for interprofessional education programme with other curricula under the LKS Faculty of Medicine. Collaborating with healthcare professionals from the HKU Health System Clinical Centre, Cynthia will be building innovative interdisciplinary service models to pioneer primary healthcare teaching and research at HKU.
