The Health Bureau says a phased rollout of its Community Pharmacy Programme is set to begin in the fourth quarter of next year.

The programme is designed to operate under two distinct service models to enhance access to medications for patients.

The two models will serve the community and specific residential care homes.

The community one is designed to allow patients from public family medicine clinics to get prescription refills at designated pharmacies in their districts once their initial eight-week supply from the clinic is finished.

Speaking on an RTHK programme on Saturday, Cheung Wai-lun, director of the Health Bureau's strategic purchasing office, said this system is designed to minimise waste.

"We are aiming for refills that last about eight weeks so there won't be several months of medication at people's homes. This approach can reduce medication waste," he said.

"Additionally, people will not have too much medication on hand. They will only hold medication they need."

To ensure efficiency, Cheung said the bureau would implement strict controls at participating pharmacies, including requiring them to stock medication based on actual prescriptions and closely monitoring dispensing and collection rates.

The community model of dispensing medication will also be available to patients enrolled in government primary healthcare programmes, such as the Co-Care Pilot Scheme, who wish to fill their prescriptions outside of their family doctor's clinic.

The second model is tailored to the needs of residential care homes.

Under this system, Cheung said, participating pharmacies will pre-package and deliver medicines for residents who are public hospital patients, simplifying the medication management process for care facilities.

He said tenders for the first community model will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, leading to a pilot programme in four districts featuring about four to five pharmacies each.

The bureau's goal is to expand this programme citywide by the fourth quarter of 2027.

Meanwhile, tenders for the residential care home model are expected to begin in the first quarter of next year, with implementation starting in the first quarter of 2027.