The three departments issue a notice: New requirements for primary-level traditional Chinese medicine service standards

Recently, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued the “Basic Standards for the Management of Traditional Chinese Medicine Services at Township Health Centers and Community Health Service Centers,” which sets new requirements for the construction of TCM departments and pharmacies, staffing and training of TCM personnel, and basic TCM services. To further strengthen the standardized management of TCM services at township health centers and community health service centers, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the National Health Commission, and the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention revised the “Basic Standards for the Management of TCM Services at Township Health Centers” and the “Basic Standards for the Management of TCM Services at Community Health Service Centers” issued in 2003, forming the “Basic Standards for the Management of TCM Services at Township Health Centers and Community Health Service Centers.”

According to these standards, township health centers and community health service centers should reasonably staff TCM professionals, with TCM physicians making up at least 20% of all physicians in the institution; they should be able to provide more than 10 TCM techniques across at least 6 categories, including decoction, acupuncture, moxibustion, scraping and Bian stone therapy, cupping, and massage; they should be equipped with no fewer than 300 types of Chinese herbal decoctions (including granules); and they should be able to carry out national basic public health services related to TCM health management, with TCM health management for seniors over 65 and children aged 0-36 months meeting national requirements.

Additionally, they are responsible for guiding TCM services at the grassroots level within their jurisdiction, promoting at least one medical staff member in each village clinic and community health station who can provide TCM services. These standards apply to legally established township health centers and community health service centers; other grassroots medical and health institutions may refer to these standards for TCM service management. (CCTV News)