Beijing Municipal Regulations on the Development of Chinese Medicine
(Adopted at the 27th session of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh Beijing Municipal People's Congress, June 22, 2001)
Chapter I. General Provisions
Article 1. These Regulations are formulated, in accordance with the relevant national laws and statutes and in light of Beijing's actual conditions, to inherit and bring forward Chinese medicine and pharmacy, safeguard and promote the development of the TCM enterprise, and meet the public's demand for TCM medical and health-keeping services.
Article 2. These Regulations apply to activities of Chinese medicine (including Chinese-Western integration and ethnic medicine) conducted in Beijing — care, prevention, health-keeping, rehabilitation — as well as TCM education, research, and foreign exchange.
Article 3. Development of the TCM enterprise shall adhere to the policy of equal weight to Chinese and Western medicine. Following the principles of inheritance, protection, support, and development, it shall bring out the characteristics and strengths of Chinese medicine, apply modern science and technology, promote the development of TCM theory and practice, and push forward the modernization of Chinese medicine.
Article 4. People's governments at all levels in Beijing shall strengthen their leadership of TCM work, fold the development of TCM into the plans for national economic and social development, and take measures to provide conditions and guarantees for TCM development.
Article 5. The municipal TCM administrative department is in charge of TCM work for the whole city. The district- and county-level health administrative departments are responsible for TCM work in their jurisdictions. The relevant administrative departments at municipal and district/county levels shall, within their respective duties, jointly promote and safeguard the development of the TCM enterprise.
Article 6. Units and individuals making outstanding contributions to the development of TCM in Beijing shall be commended and rewarded by the municipal or district/county people's government, or by the municipal TCM administrative department.
Chapter II. Support and Safeguards
Article 7. People's governments at all levels in Beijing shall progressively increase investment in the TCM enterprise. The growth rate of TCM funding shall exceed the growth rate of overall health funding.
Finance departments shall arrange dedicated TCM funding in reasonable measure, to support the building of key disciplines, the translation of scientific results, talent training, and rural TCM development.
When arranging science-and-technology funding, science-and-technology administrative departments shall provide focused support for TCM projects.
Article 8. People's governments at all levels in Beijing shall protect wild Chinese-herb resources and support research and development of cultivated herbs and substitutes for wild herbs.
Article 9. Use of overseas capital is encouraged — through joint ventures, cooperation, and other forms — to develop the TCM enterprise.
Domestic and overseas organizations and individuals supporting TCM development through donations, grants, or other means shall enjoy the relevant preferential policies stipulated by the State.
Medical institutions and citizens with TCM practice qualifications are encouraged to carry out TCM medical activities overseas and to engage in other forms of international cooperation and exchange.
Article 10. Persons enrolled in the municipal basic medical insurance, beyond their stipulated choice of designated medical institutions, may freely choose a designated TCM medical institution for care. TCM diagnostic-therapeutic techniques shall be included in the scope of selection for the basic-medical-insurance diagnostic-therapeutic item catalog. Chinese-medicine preparations compounded by designated medical institutions, once approved by the relevant departments, may be used by transfer among designated medical institutions and shall be included in the scope of selection for the basic-medical-insurance drug catalog.
Article 11. Medical institutions shall actively promote inexpensive, effective TCM diagnostic-therapeutic techniques.
Persons enrolled in the municipal basic medical insurance who choose certain TCM techniques included in the basic-medical-insurance diagnostic-therapeutic item catalog shall enjoy preferential policies; specific rules shall be formulated separately by the municipal labor-and-social-security administrative department together with the municipal TCM administrative department.
Article 12. The price standards for TCM technical services shall consider TCM characteristics and reflect the value of TCM techniques.
Chapter III. TCM Medical Institutions and Medical Services
Article 13. People's governments at all levels in Beijing shall, according to the public's TCM demand, adjust and improve the distribution of TCM medical institutions.
Each district or county shall have at least one non-profit TCM medical institution. Comprehensive hospitals shall strengthen their TCM departments and rooms; township health centers shall set up and improve their TCM departments and rooms.
In the merging and cooperation of medical institutions, full use shall be made of TCM resources and the role of TCM shall be brought out.
Article 14. Citizens, legal persons, and other organizations are encouraged to lawfully establish TCM medical institutions in the forms of cooperation, joint venture, and others.
TCM practitioners with long clinical experience are encouraged to open individual practices and engage in related diagnostic-therapeutic activities according to law.
Article 15. TCM medical institutions shall adhere to the service orientation of TCM as principal, strengthen the construction of characteristic specialties, bring out the strengths of TCM in diagnosing and treating disease, and raise the level of medical technique and overall service capacity.
Article 16. TCM medical institutions shall strengthen professional training and ethical education for TCM personnel and strictly enforce relevant rules and operating procedures.
TCM personnel shall observe professional ethics, carry forward noble medical ethics, and raise service quality and professional level.
Article 17. Community health services shall introduce TCM diagnostic-therapeutic techniques and provide the public with comprehensive TCM care, prevention, health-keeping, and rehabilitation services.
Article 18. Rural disease-prevention and treatment work shall pay attention to bringing out the strengths and role of Chinese medicine.
TCM theoretical and clinical training for rural doctors shall be strengthened to raise their TCM diagnostic-therapeutic level.
Urban TCM personnel and graduates of TCM specialties at medical colleges are encouraged to work in the countryside or to carry out various forms of TCM technical cooperation, pushing forward the development of rural TCM.
Chapter IV. Education and Research
Article 19. Multi-channel, multi-form development of TCM education is encouraged, to speed the construction of a TCM education system of appropriate scale, fitting specialties, and reasonable structure, along with corresponding clinical-teaching bases.
Article 20. The municipal TCM administrative department shall, according to the needs of TCM development, formulate TCM-talent training plans, valuing the training of academic leaders and middle-aged and young professional backbones.
Article 21. Higher TCM colleges shall strengthen basic-theory education in TCM and emphasize TCM clinical teaching; other higher medical colleges shall provide basic TCM theory and basic-skills courses.
Higher medical colleges and relevant research institutes are encouraged to train high-level personnel in TCM or Chinese-Western integration in a planned way.
Article 22. The municipal TCM administrative department and TCM medical institutions shall, by law, provide continuing education for TCM personnel; continuing education for general practitioners and rural doctors shall include a certain proportion of TCM content.
TCM personnel shall study and apply modern science and technology to advance the inheritance and development of TCM; Western-medicine and other related-discipline personnel are encouraged to study TCM theory and diagnostic-therapeutic techniques.
Article 23. Named TCM specialists shall be respected and protected.
Named TCM specialists of high academic level and rich clinical experience are encouraged to take disciples and carry out master-pupil education. Graduates of higher medical colleges and outstanding middle-aged and young TCM personnel are encouraged to summarize and inherit the academic thought and clinical experience of named TCM specialists. Specific implementing rules shall be formulated separately by the municipal TCM administrative department together with the municipal personnel department.
Article 24. The municipal TCM administrative department shall, with the municipal science-and-technology administrative department, formulate the city's TCM science-and-technology research-and-development plan, strengthen TCM research institutions and key disciplines, and do well in TCM scientific-technological intelligence and information work. TCM theoretical research, clinical research, and technical innovation shall be supported, and the translation and promotion of TCM scientific-technological achievements pushed forward.
Article 25. TCM intellectual property shall be protected according to law.
Relevant departments shall promptly process patent applications and trademark registrations for TCM patents and trademarks.
Citizens, legal persons, and other organizations may, by way of investment, contribute intangible assets such as TCM secret formulas, tested formulas, specialized techniques, and research results, and share in the distribution.
Article 26. The municipal TCM administrative department shall, together with related departments, do well in the development, excavation, organization, and protection of TCM resources; donation of valuable TCM literature and uniquely effective folk TCM diagnostic-therapeutic techniques and formulas is encouraged.
The health, finance, science-and-technology, and other administrative departments shall provide funding or other forms of support for the publication of TCM works of significant academic value.
Article 27. TCM academic societies shall carry out academic exchange in a planned way, organize TCM consultation services, propagate TCM knowledge, and organize or assist in in-service training and continuing education for TCM personnel.
Chapter V. Supervision and Administration
Article 28. The establishment of a TCM medical institution shall be subject to approval and practice registration in accordance with the Regulations on the Administration of Medical Institutions. The municipal TCM administrative department and the district/county health administrative department shall inspect and guide the practice activities of TCM medical institutions.
The cancellation, merger, or change of medical character of a non-profit TCM medical institution shall require the consent of the original approving department. Where the original approving department is a district/county health administrative department, such cancellation, merger, or change shall be reported to the municipal TCM administrative department for the record.
Article 29. Qualification and practice registration of TCM physicians, and qualification evaluation and approval for traditional-medicine apprenticeships and personnel possessing genuine specialties to take the medical-qualification examination, shall be processed according to the Law of the People's Republic of China on Practicing Physicians and related provisions.
Article 30. The following work shall be conducted primarily by TCM experts:
(1) approval of TCM research projects and appraisal of results;
(2) qualification review for TCM professional technical titles;
(3) review and assessment of TCM medical, education, and research institutions;
(4) technical appraisal of TCM medical accidents.
Article 31. The content of TCM medical advertising shall be truthful and lawful.
The municipal industry-and-commerce administrative department is the regulator of TCM medical advertising.
To publish TCM medical advertising, a TCM medical-advertising certificate issued by the municipal TCM administrative department is required. Advertising operators and publishers shall not design, produce, act as agents for, or publish TCM medical advertising that has not obtained the certificate or that does not match the approved content of the certificate.
Article 32. TCM enterprise funding and dedicated TCM funding shall be earmarked for their intended use; diversion and withholding are prohibited.
Article 33. The municipal TCM administrative department shall promote the construction of TCM industry organizations and guide their activities.
TCM industry organizations shall conduct self-discipline under their charters, safeguard their lawful rights, and promote TCM development.
Chapter VI. Legal Liability
Article 34. Where, in violation of Article 28, paragraph 1, a TCM medical institution is opened without approval, or a non-physician practices medicine, the municipal TCM administrative department or the district/county health administrative department shall close it, confiscate illegal gains, drugs, and equipment, and impose a fine of up to 100,000 RMB. The practice certificate of any physician involved shall be revoked. Where harm to patients is caused, compensation shall be borne according to law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.
Article 35. Where, in violation of Article 31, TCM medical advertising is published without approval, or the content of an advertisement does not match the approved content, the industry-and-commerce administrative department shall impose penalty on the responsible advertiser, advertising publisher, and advertising operator under the relevant provisions of the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 36. Where, in violation of Article 32, TCM enterprise funding or dedicated TCM funding is diverted or withheld, the superior administrative organ shall order its return within a time limit. The responsible person shall be subject to administrative sanction by his unit or the superior competent department; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.
Article 37. Staff of the municipal TCM administrative department or the health administrative department who commit any of the following shall be subject to administrative sanction according to law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law:
(1) approving the opening of a TCM medical institution by a unit or individual not meeting the requirements;
(2) issuing a false TCM medical-advertising certificate;
(3) other dereliction of duty, abuse of power, or self-dealing.
Chapter VII. Supplementary Provisions
Article 38. These Regulations take effect on October 1, 2001.