Complaints over medication dispensing delays surfaced on the opening days of the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong, with some patients reporting waits of around 30 minutes to receive prescribed medication. Hospital management said the issue has been identified and steps are being taken to improve efficiency.
Bian Zhao-xiang, the hospital’s chief executive, said on Friday that the team had been following up on the complaints and was optimizing the dispensing process.
He acknowledged that some patients were not yet familiar with the hospital’s newly introduced systems, particularly its mobile application, while the pharmacy’s dispensing workflow also required refinement.
He explained that the dispensing process involves multiple steps, including prescription verification, medication preparation, and a secondary check by another staff member to ensure accuracy. He said the hospital hoped to streamline procedures to improve efficiency without compromising safety.
Despite the initial challenges, Bian said the hospital’s first day of operation on Thursday was generally smooth. He added that public response since appointment bookings opened on November 1 had been positive.
To meet demand, the hospital doubled its appointment quota for the first 10 days of operation. Starting Thursday, appointment availability for subsequent days has been increased by 30 percent.
Bian said he expected that within about three months of operation, coordination among the medical teams would be fully established, with staff workflows and systems becoming fully integrated.
The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong, the city’s first hospital dedicated to traditional Chinese medicine, officially began operations on Thursday. As part of its community support measures, the hospital will waive medical fees for residents of all eight buildings at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, including domestic helpers, until the end of next year.
The fee waiver covers services including general and specialist outpatient clinics, day hospitalization, blood tests, and X-ray examinations.
