The first national law on traditional Chinese medicine may be enacted next year after 32 years of preparation

　　The State Council executive meeting held on December 9 passed the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Law (Draft)" and submitted it to the 18th meeting of the 12th National People's Congress Standing Committee for review for the first time on the 21st. Once the draft is passed by legislative vote, it will become the first national law on traditional Chinese medicine, which means that the legal status of traditional Chinese medicine medical services in my country will also be confirmed for the first time.

　　Experts believe that the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Law (Draft)" will play a practical role in revitalizing and inheriting traditional Chinese medicine, building a medical and health care system and a national health security system with Chinese characteristics, and exploring Chinese-style solutions to medical reform problems.

　　Traditional Chinese medicine legislation has been in the works for 32 years

　　As a unique medical science in my country, traditional Chinese medicine has made important contributions to the reproduction and prosperity of the Chinese nation, and it still plays an important role in maintaining people's health. “For a long time, the legal construction in the field of traditional Chinese medicine has been relatively lagging behind, especially the lack of a special law that reflects the characteristics and laws of traditional Chinese medicine, which has become an important reason restricting the healthy, sustainable and stable development of traditional Chinese medicine. ”Wang Jian, president of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said.

　　According to experts, there was a proposal to legislate TCM as early as 1983. It has been 32 years since TCM legislation was promulgated. An important reason is that TCM and Western medicine are two different knowledge theories and method systems, and the characteristics and advantages of TCM have not been clearly and unanimously recognized.

　　“Although my country has relevant regulations on traditional Chinese medicine, they focus more on the operational level. ”Chen Qiguang, leader of the Chinese Medicine National Situation Research Group of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that this time the national legislation will be more profound, more systematic and more complete, and will help answer some of the questions that the development of traditional Chinese medicine has been facing. “For example, how can traditional Chinese medicine resolve the relationship between inheritance and innovation, how can it be better integrated into the economic industry chain, and how can ethnic medicine be inclusive and better reflected? These are also issues that the traditional Chinese medicine community and people from all walks of life who care about and love traditional Chinese medicine have always been concerned about. ”he said.

　　Clarify the services of traditional Chinese medicine medical institutions

　　The draft clarifies that the so-called traditional Chinese medicine is a collective term for the medicines of all ethnic groups in my country, including the medicines of the Han and ethnic minorities. Traditional Chinese medicine medical institutions should be staffed by professional and technical personnel of traditional Chinese medicine and mainly provide traditional Chinese medicine services.

　　According to the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this law will focus on institutional innovation, follow the development laws of traditional Chinese medicine, maintain and promote the unique advantages of traditional Chinese medicine, and do a good job in connecting and coordinating with relevant laws and regulations such as medicine and health. Focus on solving problems such as the dilution of the characteristics and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine and the shrinking of service areas; insufficient innovation in theories and technical methods of traditional Chinese medicine; lack of talents in traditional Chinese medicine; uncoordinated development of traditional Chinese medicine; and poor basic conditions for the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Further promote the reform and development of traditional Chinese medicine, build a basic medical and health system with Chinese characteristics, and safeguard and improve people's health.

　　Skilled and unlicensed folk Chinese medicine practitioners can obtain physician qualifications

　　The draft proposes that those who have learned TCM from a teacher or have developed expertise through many years of practicing medical skills can obtain TCM physician qualifications after passing the assessment of practical skills and effectiveness organized by the TCM authorities of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

　　“The current physician management system cannot fully adapt to the characteristics and development needs of traditional Chinese medicine, and some personnel with real medical expertise cannot pass the examination to obtain physician qualifications. ”Wang Guoqiang, deputy director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission and director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, pointed out that based on the reality that traditional Chinese medicine service personnel have training methods such as teacher-training and family inheritance, and on the basis of fully considering the medical safety risks, the draft will only apply to those who have learned traditional Chinese medicine from teachers and have real expertise in medical practice for many years. personnel, opening up a way to obtain TCM physician qualifications through practical skills and effect assessment, that is, the provincial TCM authorities will organize classified assessments based on the safety risks of TCM technical methods. Those who pass the assessment will obtain physician qualifications and can engage in medical activities as an individual practice.

　　The draft stipulates that the medical staff of traditional Chinese medicine medical institutions should be mainly composed of professional and technical personnel of traditional Chinese medicine, who should mainly provide traditional Chinese medicine services; the use of modern scientific and technological methods should be conducive to maintaining and giving full play to the characteristics and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine.

　　In order to solve the problem of obvious shrinkage in the variety of traditional Chinese medicine preparations in medical institutions, the draft clarifies that the state encourages medical institutions to prepare and use traditional Chinese medicine preparations according to the clinical drug needs of the medical institution, and supports the application of traditional techniques to prepare traditional Chinese medicine preparations. Traditional Chinese medicine preparations that only use traditional techniques can be prepared by filing with the drug regulatory department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality where the medical institution is located, and do not need to obtain a preparation approval number. The drug regulatory authorities should strengthen supervision and inspection of the preparation and use of registered varieties of traditional Chinese medicine preparations.