Clipping Board » Medical Affairs and Administration ─ Medical system, pharmaceuticals, and medical community-related reports
Author: Zhu Xudong, Economic Information Daily
The "Traditional Chinese Medicine China Tour" Jiangsu station event was launched on the 7th in Nanjing. Recently, with the popularity of the three-volume series "Seeking Help from Others is Not as Good as Seeking Help from Yourself" and the TV lectures on "The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon's Wisdom of Health Preservation" by Qu Limin, a teacher at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, the launch ceremony of the "Traditional Chinese Medicine China Tour" with the theme of "Inheriting the Essence of Chinese Medicine, Spreading Excellent Culture, Sharing Health and Harmony" attracted thousands of Nanjing citizens. They eagerly learned Chinese medicine health exercises, understood the meridians of the human body, and the ways of health preservation.
However, after investigating the traditional Chinese medicine industry in Beijing, Jiangsu, and Shanxi, reporters found that while people are chasing after Chinese medicine health preservation, the current situation of the Chinese medicine industry is awkward, falling into a situation of decreasing practitioners and "Westernization of Chinese medicine."
The number of practitioners is decreasing, "If you don't change careers, you can't make a living."
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, as of 2004, the number of beds and health personnel in Chinese medicine medical institutions accounted for only about 9% of the total national medical resources, and this proportion is still declining year by year.
Wu Kunping, director of the Jiangsu Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, introduced that the annual business income of Chinese medicine in Jiangsu, a strong province of Chinese medicine, exceeds 5 billion yuan, accounting for one-tenth of the country. However, the annual business income generated by the Jiangsu medical market has exceeded 50 billion yuan, equivalent to the total business income of Chinese medicine nationwide.
In many grassroots health institutions in Yancheng, Huai'an, and other places in Jiangsu, many no longer have a Chinese medicine department. Yu Jun, deputy director of the Xuzhou Municipal Health Bureau, said that in some county-level Chinese medicine hospitals in the area, young Chinese medicine practitioners who recently joined have switched to Western medicine after a year, "There's no way, if you don't change careers, you can't make a living."
In contrast, the development of Chinese medicine in Shanxi Province in the central region is even weaker. Most of the province's Chinese medicine hospitals were built in the 1980s, and the equipment is generally outdated and backward. The total value of medical equipment in 104 county-level Chinese medicine hospitals is only 100 million yuan, less than the total equipment value of Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital. The Hongtong County Chinese Medicine Hospital in Linfen City, Shanxi Province, now has 224 staff members, but the financial allocation is still based on the 1999 salary standard for 92 staff members. Two years ago, because their salaries were not guaranteed for a long time, 14 key staff members of the Yangqu County Chinese Medicine Hospital in Taiyuan collectively left the hospital, completely breaking the hospital's professional and technical personnel echelon.
"I just can't understand why hospitals require Chinese medicine doctors to write papers and evaluate professional titles like Western medicine doctors?" In the mind of Wu Chunjie, deputy chief physician of Beijing Chinese Medicine Hospital, the standard of a good Chinese medicine doctor is "to diagnose well, prescribe well, and treat appropriately," not so-called papers and titles. He told reporters that under the current "only papers, only titles" Western medicine evaluation system in Chinese medicine hospitals, some Chinese medicine doctors have gone into business selling medicine, and some have simply opened massage parlors.
Various reasons have led to a decrease in the number of regular Chinese medicine practitioners, while many old Chinese medicine doctors have also been labeled as "illegal practitioners."
According to statistics from the Shanxi Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are currently nearly 11,000 folk traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Shanxi, all with unique skills and good at treating certain diseases. Although they have been practicing medicine for many years, according to current regulations in China, a large part of these people cannot obtain legal medical qualifications, and opening a clinic to see patients has become illegal medical practice.
Reporters learned that in Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, where traditional Chinese medicine is relatively prosperous, there are about 794 folk traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, 466 of whom have been practicing medicine for more than 25 years. In Qinjiazhuang Village, Jishan County, Yuncheng City, there is an old Chinese medicine doctor named "Qin Juntian" who is good at treating surgical wounds that do not heal for a long time. However, because he has not obtained a "physician's practice certificate," the old gentleman cannot practice medicine publicly and now treats patients completely free of charge.Lu Shuanguo, Deputy Director of the Yuncheng Health Bureau, believes that many capable and qualified traditional Chinese medicine practitioners scattered throughout society have no way to verify their qualifications, cannot practice independently, and cannot enter hospitals. As a result, some TCM practitioners have had to cease operations or even change careers, leading to a waste of talent resources.
In Beijing, a chief physician charges only 4 yuan per acupuncture session.
Many interviewed TCM professionals stated that the key factor leading to the decline of TCM is "lack of profitability."
Liu Shenlin, President of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that TCM provides many services but with low profit margins, making it extremely difficult for purely TCM departments to survive. "For example, in TCM acupuncture treatment, the registration fee for a chief physician is 10 yuan, and each acupuncture session costs 30 yuan, which is less than one-third of what many street massage services charge. This has led to doctors no longer valuing their skills and patients underestimating the technique. As a result, acupuncture departments in many TCM hospitals have essentially disappeared."
In Beijing's TCM hospitals, the fees for TCM services are even lower. Whether it's a chief physician or an attending physician, acupuncture therapy (commonly known as "needling") costs 4 yuan per session, cupping therapy costs 3 yuan per session, and the most expensive cutting therapy is only 16 yuan per session.
"I see a patient for 7 yuan, work four days a week in outpatient clinics, and on average, I take the pulse of over 40 patients each day, often with additional patients added," Tao Xiaping, Deputy Chief Physician of the Gastroenterology Department at Guang'anmen Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, told reporters. She said she is often too tired to speak when she gets home, yet her income cannot compare to that of Western medicine doctors who "only prescribe tests and Western medicine."
Wei Zhonghai, President of the Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told reporters that currently, most city and county-level TCM hospitals in Shanxi still receive fiscal allocations based on 40% to 60% of the 1999 and 2001 salary standards for employees. Due to the inherently "low-cost" and unprofitable nature of the TCM industry, most TCM hospital staff do not receive guaranteed monthly salaries.
The Taiyuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is quite influential in Shanxi's TCM community. Jiao Guomei, the hospital's president, has a deep understanding of the "decline" of TCM. The Taiyuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine was once a relatively "pure" TCM hospital, with almost no diagnostic or surgical procedures. Jiao Guomei said, "Pure TCM treatment means operating at a loss. If the hospital doesn't perform surgeries, how can it survive?" Four years ago, when she was first appointed as president, the hospital had not paid its employees for four months, couldn't even afford water and electricity bills, and veteran employees were constantly petitioning. Without proper lab coats, employee morale was extremely low.
Combining Chinese and Western Medicine: TCM Hospitals "Revived"
TCM has a traditional clavicle reduction technique that costs only a few dozen yuan and is very effective. In contrast, Western medicine requires surgical treatment for this, which generally costs three to five thousand yuan. After struggling for many years, orthopedic doctors at the Taiyuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine either left or changed careers.
"Due to survival needs, the hospital is currently renovating its orthopedic wards and will soon introduce surgical procedures," Jiao Guomei said. After taking office, she vigorously promoted the integration of Chinese and Western medicine, introduced advanced equipment, and launched surgical projects, allowing the hospital to "come back to life."
In recent years, Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has also actively recruited Western medicine talent and large-scale equipment, and has introduced cardiac surgery, plastic surgery, and other departments from other hospitals. This has led to criticism from public opinion for "Westernization": Where has the TCM practice of "observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking" gone? To make money and survive, how can TCM rely entirely on Western medicine projects and techniques? If TCM cannot even maintain its own territory, how can it talk about inheritance and development?
"If Hua Tuo were alive today, he would also make use of modern medical equipment."Zhang Huaqiang, vice president of the Jiangsu Provincial Association of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, refuted that whether it is a traditional Chinese medicine hospital or a Western medicine hospital, the content, methods, and means of medical services are increasingly comprehensive. Traditional Chinese medicine can no longer rely solely on the traditional methods of "one pillow and three fingers" for diagnosis through observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking. Advanced medical instruments and equipment should be widely used in the diagnosis and treatment process of diseases.
The Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine sees nearly 10,000 outpatient visits daily, with the vast majority coming for the unique features of traditional Chinese medicine. The hospital's specialized "Famous Doctors Hall" gathers dozens of renowned veteran TCM doctors from across the country, attracting a large number of patients from surrounding provinces and cities, even leading to scalpers reselling expert consultation numbers. These veteran experts generally do not use various Western medical examinations, saving patients a significant amount of money. However, these veteran experts do not reject Western medicine.
Liu Shenlin stated that for some difficult and complicated diseases, traditional Chinese medicine also needs to refer to various examinations. Therefore, introducing Western medical talents and surgical departments is an objective requirement to meet the medical needs of patients. "Traditional Chinese medicine utilizing advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies is not Westernization, but rather making use of them for our own purposes," he explained. He emphasized that while introducing Western medical talents and projects into TCM hospitals is an objective necessity, two "degrees" should be maintained: TCM practitioners should constitute the absolute majority among medical staff, and TCM should dominate medical services.
Source: http:/ / news. xinhuanet. com/ po……8- 12/ 11/ content_10486684. htm
Who Can "Cure" Traditional Chinese Medicine? "No Job, No Food without A Career Change"
The "Traditional Chinese Medicine China Tour" Jiangsu station event was launched on the 7th in Nanjing. Recently, with the popularity of the three-volume series "Seeking Help from Others is Not as Good as Seeking Help from Yourself" and the TV lectures on "The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon's Wisdom of Health Preservation" by Qu Limin, a teacher at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, the launch ceremony of the "Traditional Chinese Medicine China Tour" with the theme of "Inheriting the Essence of Chinese Medicine, Spreading Excellent Culture, Sharing Health and Harmony" attracted thousands of Nanjing citizens. They eagerly learned Chinese medicine health exercises, understood the meridians of the human body, and the ways of health preservation.
However, after investigating the traditional Chinese medicine industry in Beijing, Jiangsu, and Shanxi, reporters found that while people are chasing after Chinese medicine health preservation, the current situation of the Chinese medicine industry is awkward, falling into a situation of decreasing practitioners and "Westernization of Chinese medicine."
The number of practitioners is decreasing, "If you don't change careers, you can't make a living."
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, as of 2004, the number of beds and health personnel in Chinese medicine medical institutions accounted for only about 9% of the total national medical resources, and this proportion is still declining year by year.
Wu Kunping, director of the Jiangsu Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, introduced that the annual business income of Chinese medicine in Jiangsu, a strong province of Chinese medicine, exceeds 5 billion yuan, accounting for one-tenth of the country. However, the annual business income generated by the Jiangsu medical market has exceeded 50 billion yuan, equivalent to the total business income of Chinese medicine nationwide.
In many grassroots health institutions in Yancheng, Huai'an, and other places in Jiangsu, many no longer have a Chinese medicine department. Yu Jun, deputy director of the Xuzhou Municipal Health Bureau, said that in some county-level Chinese medicine hospitals in the area, young Chinese medicine practitioners who recently joined have switched to Western medicine after a year, "There's no way, if you don't change careers, you can't make a living."
In contrast, the development of Chinese medicine in Shanxi Province in the central region is even weaker. Most of the province's Chinese medicine hospitals were built in the 1980s, and the equipment is generally outdated and backward. The total value of medical equipment in 104 county-level Chinese medicine hospitals is only 100 million yuan, less than the total equipment value of Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital. The Hongtong County Chinese Medicine Hospital in Linfen City, Shanxi Province, now has 224 staff members, but the financial allocation is still based on the 1999 salary standard for 92 staff members. Two years ago, because their salaries were not guaranteed for a long time, 14 key staff members of the Yangqu County Chinese Medicine Hospital in Taiyuan collectively left the hospital, completely breaking the hospital's professional and technical personnel echelon.
"I just can't understand why hospitals require Chinese medicine doctors to write papers and evaluate professional titles like Western medicine doctors?" In the mind of Wu Chunjie, deputy chief physician of Beijing Chinese Medicine Hospital, the standard of a good Chinese medicine doctor is "to diagnose well, prescribe well, and treat appropriately," not so-called papers and titles. He told reporters that under the current "only papers, only titles" Western medicine evaluation system in Chinese medicine hospitals, some Chinese medicine doctors have gone into business selling medicine, and some have simply opened massage parlors.
Various reasons have led to a decrease in the number of regular Chinese medicine practitioners, while many old Chinese medicine doctors have also been labeled as "illegal practitioners."
According to statistics from the Shanxi Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are currently nearly 11,000 folk traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Shanxi, all with unique skills and good at treating certain diseases. Although they have been practicing medicine for many years, according to current regulations in China, a large part of these people cannot obtain legal medical qualifications, and opening a clinic to see patients has become illegal medical practice.
Reporters learned that in Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, where traditional Chinese medicine is relatively prosperous, there are about 794 folk traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, 466 of whom have been practicing medicine for more than 25 years. In Qinjiazhuang Village, Jishan County, Yuncheng City, there is an old Chinese medicine doctor named "Qin Juntian" who is good at treating surgical wounds that do not heal for a long time. However, because he has not obtained a "physician's practice certificate," the old gentleman cannot practice medicine publicly and now treats patients completely free of charge.Lu Shuanguo, Deputy Director of the Yuncheng Health Bureau, believes that many capable and qualified traditional Chinese medicine practitioners scattered throughout society have no way to verify their qualifications, cannot practice independently, and cannot enter hospitals. As a result, some TCM practitioners have had to cease operations or even change careers, leading to a waste of talent resources.
In Beijing, a chief physician charges only 4 yuan per acupuncture session.
Many interviewed TCM professionals stated that the key factor leading to the decline of TCM is "lack of profitability."
Liu Shenlin, President of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that TCM provides many services but with low profit margins, making it extremely difficult for purely TCM departments to survive. "For example, in TCM acupuncture treatment, the registration fee for a chief physician is 10 yuan, and each acupuncture session costs 30 yuan, which is less than one-third of what many street massage services charge. This has led to doctors no longer valuing their skills and patients underestimating the technique. As a result, acupuncture departments in many TCM hospitals have essentially disappeared."
In Beijing's TCM hospitals, the fees for TCM services are even lower. Whether it's a chief physician or an attending physician, acupuncture therapy (commonly known as "needling") costs 4 yuan per session, cupping therapy costs 3 yuan per session, and the most expensive cutting therapy is only 16 yuan per session.
"I see a patient for 7 yuan, work four days a week in outpatient clinics, and on average, I take the pulse of over 40 patients each day, often with additional patients added," Tao Xiaping, Deputy Chief Physician of the Gastroenterology Department at Guang'anmen Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, told reporters. She said she is often too tired to speak when she gets home, yet her income cannot compare to that of Western medicine doctors who "only prescribe tests and Western medicine."
Wei Zhonghai, President of the Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told reporters that currently, most city and county-level TCM hospitals in Shanxi still receive fiscal allocations based on 40% to 60% of the 1999 and 2001 salary standards for employees. Due to the inherently "low-cost" and unprofitable nature of the TCM industry, most TCM hospital staff do not receive guaranteed monthly salaries.
The Taiyuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is quite influential in Shanxi's TCM community. Jiao Guomei, the hospital's president, has a deep understanding of the "decline" of TCM. The Taiyuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine was once a relatively "pure" TCM hospital, with almost no diagnostic or surgical procedures. Jiao Guomei said, "Pure TCM treatment means operating at a loss. If the hospital doesn't perform surgeries, how can it survive?" Four years ago, when she was first appointed as president, the hospital had not paid its employees for four months, couldn't even afford water and electricity bills, and veteran employees were constantly petitioning. Without proper lab coats, employee morale was extremely low.
Combining Chinese and Western Medicine: TCM Hospitals "Revived"
TCM has a traditional clavicle reduction technique that costs only a few dozen yuan and is very effective. In contrast, Western medicine requires surgical treatment for this, which generally costs three to five thousand yuan. After struggling for many years, orthopedic doctors at the Taiyuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine either left or changed careers.
"Due to survival needs, the hospital is currently renovating its orthopedic wards and will soon introduce surgical procedures," Jiao Guomei said. After taking office, she vigorously promoted the integration of Chinese and Western medicine, introduced advanced equipment, and launched surgical projects, allowing the hospital to "come back to life."
In recent years, Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has also actively recruited Western medicine talent and large-scale equipment, and has introduced cardiac surgery, plastic surgery, and other departments from other hospitals. This has led to criticism from public opinion for "Westernization": Where has the TCM practice of "observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking" gone? To make money and survive, how can TCM rely entirely on Western medicine projects and techniques? If TCM cannot even maintain its own territory, how can it talk about inheritance and development?
"If Hua Tuo were alive today, he would also make use of modern medical equipment."Zhang Huaqiang, vice president of the Jiangsu Provincial Association of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, refuted that whether it is a traditional Chinese medicine hospital or a Western medicine hospital, the content, methods, and means of medical services are increasingly comprehensive. Traditional Chinese medicine can no longer rely solely on the traditional methods of "one pillow and three fingers" for diagnosis through observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking. Advanced medical instruments and equipment should be widely used in the diagnosis and treatment process of diseases.
The Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine sees nearly 10,000 outpatient visits daily, with the vast majority coming for the unique features of traditional Chinese medicine. The hospital's specialized "Famous Doctors Hall" gathers dozens of renowned veteran TCM doctors from across the country, attracting a large number of patients from surrounding provinces and cities, even leading to scalpers reselling expert consultation numbers. These veteran experts generally do not use various Western medical examinations, saving patients a significant amount of money. However, these veteran experts do not reject Western medicine.
Liu Shenlin stated that for some difficult and complicated diseases, traditional Chinese medicine also needs to refer to various examinations. Therefore, introducing Western medical talents and surgical departments is an objective requirement to meet the medical needs of patients. "Traditional Chinese medicine utilizing advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies is not Westernization, but rather making use of them for our own purposes," he explained. He emphasized that while introducing Western medical talents and projects into TCM hospitals is an objective necessity, two "degrees" should be maintained: TCM practitioners should constitute the absolute majority among medical staff, and TCM should dominate medical services.
Source: http:/ / news. xinhuanet. com/ po……8- 12/ 11/ content_10486684. htm