Pharmacy customers to get drug-use advice

Pharmacies in Jining, Shandong province, will provide advisers next year to instruct customers on how to use medication in a safer and more reasonable way, Shandong's Qilu Evening News reported on Wednesday.

There are about 1,900 pharmacies in Jining, and the advisers will first be used in a pilot program, the report said.

Zhang Shiyan, an official at Jining's food and drug administration, was quoted in the report as saying that these licensed pharmacists will give suggestions on taking prescribed drugs, provide advice about adverse effects, and guide users on using drugs in a more reasonable and effective way.

"We will also train pharmacists to improve their professional knowledge and capabilities, so that they can guide the consumers," Zhang told Qilu Evening News.