Government Certification Evaluated with Strict Standards... National Institute for Korean Medicine Development Announces 10 Newly Certified External Herbal Dispensaries

From Receipt to Delivery,
Government-Certified “External Herbal Dispensary Mark”

Certification mark for external herbal dispensary preparing pharmacopuncture.

[The Asia Business Daily Yeongnam News Bureau, Reporter Yeo Jonggu] The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Institute for Korean Medicine Development have newly granted certification for general herbal medicine preparation and acupuncture injection preparation, respectively, to the external herbal dispensaries operated by Siloam Korean Medicine Clinic (Gimje, Jeollabuk-do) and Anjung Korean Medicine Clinic (Seoul).

Until now, 10 external herbal dispensaries nationwide have received certification, and further details can be found on the website of the National Institute for Korean Medicine Development.

Status of External Herbal Dispensaries Certified by the National Institute for Korean Medicine Development.

An external herbal dispensary is a facility that specializes in preparing herbal medicine based on prescriptions from Korean medicine doctors. Since September 2018, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Institute for Korean Medicine Development have implemented a certification system for these dispensaries, evaluating the entire process from the receipt of raw materials to delivery to determine certification eligibility.

Herbal medicines and acupuncture injections produced at certified external herbal dispensaries bear a certification mark, allowing consumers to confirm that they were prepared in a safe environment.

The external herbal dispensary certification system is applied separately to "general herbal medicine" preparation, which includes various forms such as decoctions and pills, and to "acupuncture injection" preparation.

Certification for general herbal medicine preparation at external herbal dispensaries is based on 81 criteria, including the use of standardized herbal materials that have passed safety tests for heavy metals and residual pesticides. Certification for acupuncture injection preparation is evaluated based on 165 criteria, including the establishment of clean zones, environmental management, and sterilization processes.

With the expiration of the first certification cycle, new standards for the second cycle of certification have been established and will be fully implemented starting in September.

In the second cycle, the validity period of certification will be extended from three years to four years, and new certification standards for small-scale external herbal dispensaries have been introduced to improve the system. Detailed information on the second-cycle certification standards for external herbal dispensaries and implementation guidelines can be found on the website of the National Institute for Korean Medicine Development.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.