The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday announced the release of an app that allows people to download information about over-the-counter drugs by scanning the barcode on packaging.
Division of Controlled Drugs official Chen Ko-hsin (陳可欣) told a news conference in Taipei that the agency developed the app to make it more convenient for people to choose drugs, as they can read more detailed information about the drugs by using a mobile device to scan the barcode instead of relying on material printed on the packaging.
The app also uses GPS to help people locate pharmacies in their proximity to consult pharmacists about drugs, Chen said.
The app, which has a Chinese name meaning “drug scanner” (藥掃描), has six main features, with food and drug-related news updates, drug information, a drug license inquiry system and a frequently asked questions section alongside the barcode scanner and GPS features, Chen said.
Chen said people can share drug-safety information through the app, as well as confirming rumors about drugs.
Chen said that an example of the information in the frequently asked questions section is a report on the idea that steroids can harm the stomach, liver and kidneys.
The app reports that the idea is accurate and such substances should be avoided, Chen said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
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