A citizen was buying medicine.

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- The Regulations of Chongqing on Administration of Medicine Vending Machine (Interim) (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) has officially come into force since July 1, 2020. At present, some pharmaceutical retail enterprises in Yuzhong District, Yongchuan District and Rongchang District have registered with market regulatory authorities for setting up medicine vending machine, and the pharmaceutical retail enterprises in other districts and counties are also actively preparing for relevant business.

On the afternoon that day, the reporter found a medicine vending machine outside Tongjunge Pharmacy in Jiefangbei, Yuzhong District. It is a blue cuboid cabinet machine, marked with “24-hour medicine vending”. Click the “Buy Medicine” as indicated on the screen to enter the medicine purchasing interface.

After clicking the medicine category to select the wanted medicine and then settling via mobile payment, you can get the medicine. At present, the machine offers more than ten categories of medicine, such as medicine for respiratory system and skin diseases. The whole process takes less than 1 minute. Except for the on-site purchase, the machine also supports take-out service.

The medicine prices are the same on the medicine vending machines and in brick-and-mortar pharmacies. According to the pharmacy’s personnel, the medicine vending machine has realized the sales of nearly 3,000 yuan and the take-out order amount of more than 300 yuan. Meanwhile, the machine is also marked with 24-hour service hotline to offer consultation service if any questions about the medicine purchase.

The medicine vending machine can meet the daily household demands or emergency demands for medicine and medical devices by 24-hour sale of over-the-counter medicine, Class-I medical devices and some Class-II medical devices such as “thermometer, medical absorbent cotton, medical mask, medical sterile gauze, disposable band-aid, glucose test strip and condom”.

The registration reporting system is applied to the setting up of medicine vending machines that the medicine retail enterprises shall report to the local district or county market regulatory authority in accordance with the law. If the conditions and requirements for setting up are met, the machines shall be registered and included in the routine supervision. (Translated by Huang Juan, Fathom Language Limited)