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When you take off your sweat-soaked protective suit every day, dragging your exhausted body back from the front lines of the pandemic, drinking a dose of the body-strengthening and pathogen-expelling ‘Qi Huang Bi Wen’ decoction to restore your vital energy and uplift your spirits is the greatest wish of our pharmacy staff. When you don your protective suit and distribute bags of traditional Chinese medicine decoctions to each patient, helping them recover as soon as possible is the expectation of our pharmacy personnel. Since the new wave of the pandemic hit Linxia in mid-July, the pharmacy department of the state hospital has prepared 5,715 doses of ‘Qi Huang Bi Wen’ decoction for all hospital staff and frontline anti-epidemic personnel in the makeshift hospital, and assisted Linxia Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in preparing 14,005 doses of ‘Qi Huang Bi Wen’ decoction, as well as 3,840 doses of treatment formulas for asymptomatic and mild patients in the makeshift hospital, averaging 2,142 doses per day. Due to the large number of patients, the workload is heavy, and pharmacy staff work continuously from 6 AM to midnight every day, even overnight without rest to prepare the decoctions.
The quality of traditional Chinese medicine decoctions is a crucial factor affecting treatment. The pharmacy department has prepared in advance according to the epidemic drug reserve requirements, ensuring that we have sufficient supplies for 30 days based on the number of hospital staff, selecting high-quality and authentic medicinal materials to guarantee excellent quality at reasonable prices. During the dispensing process, we have added verification personnel at each step to ensure 100% accuracy in the medication amounts, with meticulous checks and signatures at every stage of labeling, packaging, sending, and receiving, maintaining detailed records. We ensure that every bag of medicine sent to patients and healthcare workers is accounted for, ensuring medication safety, which reflects the hard work and dedication of all pharmacy staff.
We have set up pharmacies in designated hospitals and makeshift hospitals, on duty 24 hours a day. In addition to traditional Chinese medicine decoctions, we also have over 200 types of emergency medications and treatments for respiratory diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and common complications. To ensure timely treatment for patients, we have also stocked specialized medications from the “New Coronavirus Pneumonia Prevention and Treatment Plan” (Ninth Edition) to guarantee medication availability in the treatment of COVID-19.
The “Suwen: Treatise on the Four Qi and Regulation of the Spirit” states: “Therefore, the sage does not treat the already ill but saves the unill, does not treat the already chaotic but rectifies the unchaotic.” This is an important concept of “preventing disease before it occurs” from the “Huangdi Neijing” (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon). The principle of infectious disease prevention and control in our country emphasizes “prevention”. Another important theory in traditional Chinese medicine is “when the vital qi is strong within, evil cannot invade” and “where evil gathers, the qi must be deficient”. The Gansu formula ‘Qi Huang Bi Wen’ decoction contains Huang Qi (Astragalus), Bai Zhu (Atractylodes), and Fang Feng (Siler) to tonify qi and secure the exterior, strengthen the spleen and eliminate dampness (strengthening the body); Lian Qiao (Forsythia) and Guan Zhong (Cynanchum) to detoxify (expelling pathogens); Lu Gen (Reed rhizome) and Sha Shen (Adenophora) to nourish yin; and Sheng Jiang (Ginger) to warm the middle and disperse cold. Together, they strengthen the body and expel pathogens, benefiting qi, securing the exterior, moistening dryness, and detoxifying, thereby enhancing lung function and improving the body’s immunity. The pharmacy colleagues at the state hospital work together to support the fight against the epidemic, allowing the white-clad warriors on the front lines to wear protective gear and carry the ‘Qi Huang Bi Wen’ decoction to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve victory!
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Contributed by: Wang Zhizhong
Edited by: Chai Xiuli
Photography: Pharmacy Department
Reviewed by: Ma Dingyuan
Published by: Huang Yonghui
