Jockey Club launches PHARM+ Community Medication Service Network to support primary healthcare development
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Hong Kong is increasingly challenged by both an ageing population and the growing prevalence of chronic disease. To address these concerns and strengthen primary healthcare at the community level, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has initiated and funded the Jockey Club PHARM+ Community Medication Service Network with an approved donation of over HK$415 million. Under the five-year initiative, community pharmacies have been established in eight districts. Operated by NGO partners, they provide accessible and affordable community dispensing services, medication management and consultations with the ultimate goal of improving citizens’ health through disease prevention and self-management of health conditions.
At the project opening ceremony, Dr Gabriel Leung, the Club’s Executive Director of Charities and Community, said that just as family doctors are the core of primary healthcare, so pharmacists are critical to its effectiveness. This especially applies to the older adults, particularly those in residential care homes, for whom medication management is vitally important. Therefore, a key aim of the Jockey Club PHARM+ Community Medication Service Network is to upskill healthcare workers, including pharmacists, through collaboration across different sectors. The goal is to find a sustainable way to develop primary healthcare and so truly help patients.
The Jockey Club PHARM+ Community Medication Service Network expands the service scope of community pharmacies and raises the profile of community pharmacists. Operated by eight NGO partners, the pharmacies not only provide accessible and affordable community dispensing services, but also personalised free medication consultation and management service, health advice or referrals to other healthcare resources to support patients with chronic diseases and minor ailments.
The community pharmacies will also collaborate with District Health Centres, and family doctors to…