China's Ministry of Commerce held a on-site meeting?last week?in Beijing of pilot project on extended pharmaceutical logistics, implement the development outlines on pharmaceutical logistics as provided in the “12th Five-Year Plan”, and to promote development of modern pharmaceutical logistics, so as to enhance industrial modernization.

According to the meeting, developing modern pharmaceutical logistics is a requirement of China's reform of the medical and health system, as well as the objective needs of industrial development.

At present, pharmaceutical logistics in China could not meet the needs of the new situation of medical reform, and there are some gaps between China’s pharmaceutical circulation industry and that of the developed countries as well as other industry in China. It is necessary to take measures to promote development of modern pharmaceutical logistics and improve efficiency, which is an important task for management of pharmaceutical circulation in the 12th Five-Year Plan period, and brooks no delay.

?Pharmaceutical circulation companies should seek development opportunities by making efforts to reform, or joining modern logistics networks of large-scale pharmaceutical circulation companies.

The pilot project on extended pharmaceutical logistics aims to promote the model in which pharmaceutical circulation companies extend modern pharmaceutical logistics to hospitals, i.e. pharmaceutical circulation companies extend logistics to godown, dispensary, and hospital wards through such measures as IT application, so as to achieve integration of information flow, logistics and cash flow in hospital pharmaceutical administration.

It will not only improve management efficiency of hospitals, but also enhance value of the pharmaceutical circulation companies, changing current situation that automation and IT application for pharmaceutical logistics was limited to internal use