We firmly believe community pharmacies can serve as the first point of contact for primary healthcare services. Working closely with local communities, we have progressively developed a comprehensive community pharmacy model to diversify pharmaceutical services. Through active health education on social media platforms, implementing multiple Hospital Authority patient medication subsidy programs, and promoting both Minor Ailment Services and Community Medication Management Services, we aim to instill our service philosophy across all community sectors and help the public understand that “pharmacists are valuable community health partners.”

In the second half of 2020, the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy at The University of Hong Kong launched a vaccination training program for pharmacists. Health In Action served as a collaborative partner and became a member of the “Pharmacist Vaccination Training Task Force.” On one hand, we jointly developed the training standards and framework; on the other hand, our nursing team served as course instructors, teaching vaccine reconstitution techniques, intramuscular and subcutaneous injection skills, while sharing knowledge on clinical assessment, infection control, and service management.

Health In Action partnered with Wofoo Social Enterprises to establish the “Wofoo Health In Action Community Pharmacy” within their Wellness Hub—integrating pharmacist services into a comprehensive one-stop preventive and primary healthcare model.

Local studies reveal that approximately 6.9% of A&E patients are hospitalized due to medication-related issues¹, while one-third of medication users demonstrate poor adherence². These problems significantly compromise patient safety and treatment efficacy.

In Western healthcare systems, community pharmacists routinely provide medication management and assessment services to high-risk patients, reducing medication-related complications and improving health outcomes. However, such services remained uncommon in Hong Kong’s standard care model.

In 2020, Health In Action partnered with the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy to launch the Community Medication Management Services Pilot Program. Through one-on-one pharmacist-led medication reviews and follow-ups, the initiative empowered patients to fully understand their drug therapies and health conditions, addressing medication problems to enhance safety and effectiveness. Concurrently, the program researched scalable models for implementing community medication management in Hong Kong, providing evidence for broader healthcare adoption.

¹ Wong KC. Drug-related problems (DRPs) in emergency department (ED) visits and the impact of the pharmacist-initiated analgesia pathway (PIAP) intervention for adult patients of a teaching hospital of Hong Kong. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. 2019

² Lee GK, Wang HH, Liu KQ, Cheung Y, Morisky DE, Wong MC. Determinants of medication adherence to antihypertensive medications among a Chinese population using Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. PloS one. 2013; 8:e62775

Health In Action conducted “Hong Kong Working Poor Health Care Access Study Report” in 2017. The results found that 30% of the respondents, when seeking medical assistance for non-emergency conditions, chose “self-medication” as their most common approach, while fewer than half of that number consulted pharmacists. This indicates a lack of awareness about accessing professional pharmaceutical advice.

In response, Health In Action established a community pharmacy to comprehensively serve the public, aiming to enhance the availability, accessibility, and affordability of community pharmacy services. Through providing medication management and consultation services, we strive to improve users’ health knowledge and empower them with better self-management capabilities of tackling both minor ailments and chronic conditions.