Crackdowns on unlicensed medical practitioners in China appear to be on the upswing. China’s Ministry of Health has called for investigations of unlicensed medical services, saying the phenomenon is still far too common. Over the last few years, the Ministry has dealt with 174,000 cases of unlicensed medical practice, penalizing 58,000 medical institutions for employing unlicensed doctors.
In a similar move China’s State Food and Drug Administration announced it plans to do “on-the-spot checks” of pharmaceutical companies to reduce the risk of poor-quality and fake drugs appearing on the market. Over the past several months, this oft-criticized agency revoked approvals for 353 medicines and turned down 3,049 applications for new drugs.
Of course, like any official government statistics (from the Chinese government or our own!) these impressive numbers should be viewed with a discerning, skeptical eye. However, the Chinese government should be commended for its intentions, on this and other health-related issues.
For example, the First Asian Pacific Summit on Emerging Health Care Strategy — sanctioned by China’s Ministry of Health and organized by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Mayo Clinic and the CITIC Group — will be held next month in Beijing. This Summit is being billed as an important step in furthering the “pragmatic collaboration” and increasing involvement of Mayo Clinic in the training of physicians in China.
Beijing is clearly serious about putting their money where their mouth is with national health care reform. Only time will tell what shape this reform takes.
