A smart traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province [Photo/chinanews.com]

Smart traditional Chinese medicine pharmacies in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, have helped improve the city's traditional Chinese medicine service by using internet technologies.

Smart pharmacies are able to provide patients with services like online registration, smart payments, medicine decoction, medicine distribution, as well as consultations with a smart Chinese medicine pharmaceutical service platform.

Jinan currently has established six smart traditional Chinese medicine pharmacies in the city, which has benefited local patients.

The automated equipment in the smart pharmacy helps save time and promotes efficiency. It only takes 20 seconds to prepare a dose of Chinese medicine, compared to about five to six minutes it takes to prepare by hand.

Smart pharmacies not only make work more efficient, but also free pharmacists from the busy work of filling prescriptions and give them more time to return to their clinical pharmacy studies, said Ma Xiaoen, director of the Jinan Municipal Health Commission.

Currently, the city's six smart TCM pharmacies have established connections with more than 300 medical institutions and hospitals. The service covers nine districts and counties in the city, including the districts of Shizhong, Huaiyin, Licheng, Zhangqiu, Gangcheng, Jiyang, as well as Laiwu.