대한약국학회

A Study on the Necessity and Status of  ‘Public Late Night 

Pharmacy’  and its Efforts to Expand  

Joo Ah Oh 1  , KS BAEK 2  and M. KANG 3 

College of Pharmacy 1,3 , Woosuk University, Wan-ju 55338, Korea 

주오  Pharmacy 2 , Gyeonggi-do Province, Korea 

Abstract  

Introduction  

Public late-night pharmacies refer to pharmacies operated during late-night hours (22:00 a.m.-

1:00 a.m.) to minimize inconvenience in purchasing medicines and misuse of medicines through 

guidance from professional pharmacists. 

In order to enhance the convenience of access to medicines to consumers during late nights and 

holidays when pharmacies are closed, convenience stores have been introduced, but concerns over 

convenience store medicines have been mounting due to a series of side effects, raising the need 

for legislation by public late-night pharmacies.   

As such, the public is feeling the need for late-night public pharmacies, and the health insurance 

budget savings from the operation of public late-night pharmacies are excellent. However, the drug 

stores  operating  at  night  should  be  backed  by  realistic  government  support,  including  local 

governments, as they have financial difficulties and cannot continue to operate. Therefore, through 

this study, we would like to learn about the needs and status of public late-night pharmacies and 

make suggestions on where to move forward. 

Purpose  

The purpose of the study is to find out the meaning and necessity of public late-night pharmacies 

and to see if the status of public late-night pharmacies across the country and the public's demand 

are in line. It is also to find out the possibility of expanding public late-night pharmacies and what 

efforts are needed. 

Method  

The  problems  and  current  status  were  examined  on  the  distortion  of  medical  use  during 

vulnerable times, pharmacies as gatekeepers, public demand, difficulties in voluntary operation, and 

financial support, and the need for public late-night pharmacies and the current status of public 

late-night pharmacies. 

A survey by Gwangju Metropolitan City found that nine out of 10 patients agree on the need to 

institutionalize public late-night pharmacies. As for the need to operate late-night pharmacies to 

fill the late-night medical vacuum, 256 (94.3%) said they needed to use late-night pharmacies, with 

136 (48.4%) having professional counseling on drugs through pharmacists. Next, 86 respondents 

(30.6%) said that complex procedures and high costs will be burdensome if they use the emergency 

room, and 62 respondents (22.1%) said they are concerned about side effects and misuse if they 

purchase drugs at convenience stores.   According to an analysis of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's big data on 

health care, there were 23,063 pharmacies nationwide at the end of June 2020. On the other hand, 

the number of pharmacies that operate late-night public pharmacies is 95, which is 0.004 percent 

of the nation's pharmacies. 

Result  

The cost-benefit analysis for the operation of the late-night pharmacy resulted in a calculation of 

39,684 won. The actual amount of pharmacists' intention to receive was found to be 45,000 won 

per hour. The late-night pharmacy operation also showed that sales of general medicine increased, 

especially from 22:00 p.m. to 24:00 p.m. 

Conclusion  

The expected effects of the operation of public late-night pharmacies can lead to the promotion 

of national health by enhancing the convenience and satisfaction of people's purchase of medicines, 

reducing  unnecessary  waste  of  medical  expenses,  ensuring  access  to  medicines  and  preventing 

misuse.   

To expand public late-night pharmacies, first of all, it is necessary to expand state funding. The 

operating hours of public late-night pharmacies and the amount of support vary slightly from local 

governments, and the "Zuo Pharmacy" in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, which conducted the practice, 

is open from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. and receives 30,000 won per hour. However, it is difficult to operate 

a public late-night pharmacy because there are few areas across the country that provide active 

support such as Gyeonggi Province. Second, active promotion expansion is needed. Even though it 

operates a public late-night pharmacy, its utilization rate has not increased due to poor publicity. 

It is necessary to establish a system that will allow people to find and use the information of public 

late-night pharmacies quickly by actively promoting them through signboards and media outlets 

and increasing access to information on public late-night pharmacies. 

Key word : Public late-night pharmacy, Ensuring access to medicines