China relaxes standards for traditional Chinese medicine clinics

BEIJING — China has relaxed standards for setting up traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinics, according to documents released by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SATCM) on Dec 11.

According to the new standard which came into effect this week, TCM clinics can choose to offer solely TCM medical treatment and services or a combination of TCM and western medicine. It also requires fewer years of on-the-job training before practitioners can become licensed to work in the clinics.

The standard instructs clinics that provide both TCM and western medicine to prioritize TCM, using it in at least 85 percent of their treatments. These dual function clinics should cover a total of more than 40 square meters and provide at least 10 square meters per practitioner on average.

Clinics must draw up plans to prevent and control infectious diseases.

China has released a series of plans and regulations to develop TCM treatment and cultivate practitioners, since the TCM law took effect as of July 1, this year.