Recently, six authorities including the National Health Commission ("NHC") have jointly issued the Opinions on Strengthening Pharmaceutical Administration among Medical Institutions to Promote Proper Drug Use (the "Opinions").
The Opinions touch upon contents in six aspects, including: 1. strengthening the administration of drug supply for medical institutions; 2. striving for proper use of drugs; 3. expanding the scope of pharmaceutical services; 4. strengthening the building of teams of pharmaceutical professionals; 5. improving industry regulation; and 6. stepping up organization and implementation. Regarding the first point, the Opinions expressly state that the State will dynamically update the National Catalog of Essential Drugs, guided by the demand for drugs in clinical treatment, adding that each region shall ramp up its efforts to prioritize the supply and use of essential drugs and prompt medical institutions at all levels to use drugs in the mode of "1+X" in which "1" stands for the National Catalog of Essential Drugs, while "X" represents non-essential drugs. Non-essential drugs should undergo a full evaluation and discussion by each medical institution's pharmaceutical administration and pharmacotherapeutics committee, and be selected first from drugs subject to centralized procurement and use organized by the State and drugs listed on the national catalog of drugs covered by medical insurance.