[비즈한국] Recently, some herb pharmacists (hanyaksa) who handled prescription drugs were cleared of charges due to insufficient evidence, creating a sense of bewilderment within the pharmacist community. A Ministry of Health and Welfare official stated, "We will review whether to provide additional opinions after assessing the progress in each local government." Regarding this non-prosecution decision, the herb pharmacist community argues, "Under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, ordering prescription drugs by a pharmacy proprietor is not a violation," adding that "the same standards should be applied to pharmacists."
Administrative Notices for 61 Locations, Cautionary Measures for About 110
In June of last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced, "Cases have been confirmed where prescription drugs outside the scope of licensure were supplied to pharmacies opened by herb pharmacists." The Ministry, in conjunction with local governments, conducted an investigation to determine the actual status of 217 pharmacies out of 838 pharmacies opened by herb pharmacists (as of late March 2024) that had reported supplying prescription drugs between 2022 and 2023. As a result, the Ministry gave notice of administrative sanctions to 61 locations that violated related laws by repeatedly ordering prescription drugs for self-medication without prescriptions, or using them for study or community service activities. About 110 pharmacies that ordered prescription drugs once or twice, or had disposed of or stored them after the return period expired, were issued warnings.
As this was the first on-site investigation by health authorities into pharmacies opened by herb pharmacists, and with subsequent administrative sanctions announced, the pharmacist community at the time viewed this as the first step toward resolving the inter-professional conflict with herb pharmacists. However, as some herb pharmacists recently accused by the Ministry and the Korean Pharmaceutical Association were not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence, voices are emerging among frontline pharmacists that it was a "hasty judgment by the Pharmaceutical Association." It is known that during the investigation, the herb pharmacists stated they purchased the prescription drugs for personal consumption, or provided them free of charge for volunteer work, or disposed of them.
A Ministry official stated, "We are currently assessing the progress of each local government. Some have finished filing accusations, while others are reviewing matters internally. We plan to present our opinions to the police if necessary after the assessment," adding, "We will decide whether to conduct additional investigations into pharmacies opened by herb pharmacists by considering the investigation results, the reviews by local governments, and the administrative capacity available to those local governments."
Herb Pharmacist Community: “Purchasing Prescription Drugs is Not a Problem Under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act”
The herb pharmacist community believes this non-prosecution decision is a natural outcome. They claim that herb pharmacists have only done what is legal within the scope set by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, and that some herb pharmacists suffered harm during the on-site investigation process. "Person A," familiar with the internal situation of the Korean Herb Pharmacist Association, said, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare concluded that the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act was violated based solely on the prescription drug supply records of pharmacies opened by herb pharmacists, and proceeded with the investigation. Under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, it is not a violation for a pharmacy proprietor to order prescription drugs," adding, "It seems the investigation was conducted just to see the situation because the Pharmaceutical Association kept raising the issue."
Person A said, "Herb pharmacists purchasing prescription drugs is not a problematic area," and regarding on-site disposal, stated, "It is a rational act for inventory management." Person A added, "Even public health centers said they were confused about what grounds to use for judgment," and, "It is wrong to approach this by assuming that because they purchased them, they necessarily dispensed and sold them. When ordering various items, mistakes happen. Since return costs are high, it is more reasonable in terms of inventory management to collect them and return them every six months or a year, or to dispose of them on-site. If these parts are violations, the same standards should be applied to pharmacists."
They also alleged that pharmaceutical companies caused problems by creating false supply records. Person A mentioned earlier, "This investigation was based on medicine supply records written by pharmaceutical companies. They are obligated to report to medical institutions or pharmacies how much they supplied by item. However, there were many herb pharmacists who were disadvantaged and offended because records existed as if they had ordered items they never requested, without their knowledge," and explained, "It might be the mistakes of a few employees, but when listening to the explanations of pharmaceutical companies, it turned out to be cases where they temporarily held inventory to help other pharmacies, and processed them as if they were returned later."
Meanwhile, the Korean Herb Pharmacist Association maintains that it will actively cooperate if the government clearly divides which medicines pharmacists and herb pharmacists can handle. An official from the Korean Herb Pharmacist Association stated, "In general sentiment, there may be questions about herb pharmacists handling prescription drugs. But pharmacists also handle herbal preparations arbitrarily. In the end, it is because the government has not provided specific standards until now," adding, "I question whether an approach that only takes issue with herb pharmacists handling prescription drugs is rational administration." Regarding a consultative body for discussion, they said, "So far, related organizations have not officially received a proposal or held a meeting regarding the formation of a consultative body."