[News Terms] Government's First Certified 'Small-scale Off-site Pharmacy'

'Wonoe Tangjeonsil' is a separate auxiliary facility installed outside a medical institution that specializes in manufacturing traditional Korean medicine such as decoctions, pills, and ointments according to a Korean medicine doctor's prescription.

In the past, most herbal medicines were prepared and decocted in the dispensing rooms within Korean medicine clinics, but due to increasing environmental and cost burdens, Wonoe Tangjeonsil was introduced to improve the quality of medical services through pre-preparation and mass preparation.

In September 2008, with the revision of the Medical Service Act Enforcement Rules and the announcement of the "Guidelines on Installation, Use, and Joint Use of Wonoe Tangjeonsil" the following year, regulations on facility standards and the placement of Korean medicine doctors and herbal pharmacists were specified. Medical institutions must install these facilities, and joint use is also possible, allowing multiple medical institutions to order and supply herbal medicines. Herbal medicines prescribed by a Korean medicine doctor who directly examined the patient can be prepared and decocted at the Wonoe Tangjeonsil and delivered to the patient by courier.

Herbal medicine ingredients and decoction equipment.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

In 2018, the Wonoe Tangjeonsil certification system was introduced to evaluate the decoction facilities, their operation processes, and the overall preparation process to verify that herbal medicines are safely prepared. After the first cycle of certification from 2018 to 2021, a small-scale Wonoe Tangjeonsil certification standard was established in the second cycle from 2022 to 2025 to systematically manage small Wonoe Tangjeonsil facilities by including them in the certification system.

The small-scale Wonoe Tangjeonsil certification standard applies to general herbal medicine preparation Wonoe Tangjeonsil facilities with annual sales under 1.5 billion KRW. Safety-related standards such as quality control are evaluated at the same level as general Wonoe Tangjeonsil, while standards related to documentation and meeting operations that do not directly affect hygiene and quality have been relaxed. Unlike the general Wonoe Tangjeonsil certification validity period of four years, the small-scale Wonoe Tangjeonsil certification period is reduced to two years, and inspections will be conducted at least once a year to verify compliance with certification standards.

On the 4th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that for the first time since the second cycle evaluation certification of Wonoe Tangjeonsil was conducted in September last year, the 'Haseong Korean Medicine Hospital Wonoe Tangjeonsil' was certified as a small-scale Wonoe Tangjeonsil that prepares general herbal medicine.

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