The National Health and Family Planning Commission ("NHFPC") has recently issued the Interim Administrative Measures for the Record-filing of Clinics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (the "Measures"), effective from December 1, 2017.
The Measures state that where a party intends to set up a clinic specialized in traditional Chinese medicine ("TCM"), it shall file a record with the competent authority for TCM at the county level at the locality of the proposed clinic, before carrying out any activities to practice TCM. Further, the Measures expressly state that establishing a TCM clinic shall have five requirements fulfilled, including "meeting the provisions set out in the Basic Standards for TCM Clinics". Entities and individuals that are prohibited from applying for establishing medical institutions under the Implementing Rules for the Administrative Regulations on Medical Institutions are not allowed to set up TCM clinics either. Additionally, the Measures prescribe that a TCM clinic shall display its Record-filing Certificate for TCM Clinics and information about its health workers in a prominent position in the clinic. Moreover, the Record-filing Certificate for TCM Clinics shall not be forged, sold, transferred, or lent out. Competent authorities for TCM at the county level shall make public on their own government portal the information on TCM clinics that have filed the record within their respective jurisdiction, within 20 days from the date the Record-filing Certificates for TCM Clinics are granted.