What core principles should be followed when planning a medicine warehouse layout to meet Department of Health requirements?

The layout of a medicine warehouse is key to ensuring medicine quality and safety. It must follow the principles of clear workflow, physical segregation and prevention of cross-contamination. First, clearly defined functional areas must be established, including receiving, quarantined goods pending examination, released goods, non-conforming goods (including returned, recalled, expired or damaged medicines) and dispatch areas. There should be clear physical boundaries between areas, for example, walls, partitions or clearly marked floor areas. Second, the layout should ensure a one-way workflow from receiving to dispatch, without crossing paths, to avoid confusion between medicines that have passed examination and those pending examination or deemed non-conforming. In addition, dedicated storage areas meeting the relevant requirements must be provided for medicines with special storage conditions (such as refrigeration, protection from light or controlled poisons).