China Medical News

National Health and Family Planning Commission revealed that, according to latest official figures, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in China had exceeded 497,000 by end of October, with 154,000 deaths. The official said that infections among young students, the middle aged and the elderly have been particularly noticeable. (Source: Xinhua)

According to the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, the Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry has developed rapidly during the last 10 years, and in 2013, the total value of TCM out-put exceeded 560 billion RMB (91.4 billion USD), one third of the total value of China's medicine industry. During the first TCM Science Conference which was held on Nov. 23rd, an official from the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine said "TCM and western medicine complement each other, which is an important trait of China's health service system" and "as TCM has advantage in prevention and health care and is relatively cheaper than western medicine, TCM will help to solve difficulties for common people to get medical treatment" and thus suggested that TCM will play a bigger role in the future medical reform. (Source: Xinhua)

On May 19^th, a vice director of a special committee on stroke treatment under the National Health and Family Planning Commission reported that 1.88% of China's population suffered a stroke in 2011, up from 0.27 percent in 1986. The study also revealed that more cases were reported in rural areas than in urban regions, and that the higher one's education level is, the lower the risk of suffering a stroke. While the study found that older people are more likely to suffer a stroke, it also noted that China's stroke patients are getting younger. (Source: Xinhua)

On May 8^th, China's economic planning body, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced that they will scrap caps on retail prices for low-cost medicine. Price caps of 280 Western medicines and 250 Chinese patent drugs, previously priced low by the government to relieve patients' medical burden, will be lifted, allowing producers to set prices according to their production costs, said the NDRC.
This move towards free-market pricing comes after strict price controls leading to drug quality problems and shortages in the country. For example, many pharmaceutical companies registered to sell the thyroid medication Tapazole have halted production in recent years after pricing restrictions squeezed out profits, experts say, creating a shortage. Also in 2012, some drug-capsule manufacturers were found to be using industrial gelatin to cut production costs. The industrial gelatin contained the chemical chromium, which can be carcinogenic with frequent exposure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, according to experts, the pricing reversal may not necessarily alleviate pricing pressure for these drugs. According to Justin Wang, a partner at L.E.K. consulting, "To get drugs into hospitals, companies must compete in a tendering process at the provincial level, and it's still unclear how the provinces will react to this new national list". (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

According to a report released by the world's leading independent charity, Save the Children, the mortality rate for children under five in China has dropped by more than two-thirds since 1990, and the maternal mortality has been cut by 70 percent. The country director for Save the Children in China said, "China has been consistently rising on the index, with dramatic cuts in maternal and child mortality" and "[this is] the result of strong political will and willingness to invest in healthcare for children, which is a tremendous achievement given the size of the country and population". (Source: Xinhua)

A week-long campaign, The Cancer Prevention Week, was held in Beijing from April 15 to 21 to boost public awareness of cancer prevention and control. According to a report released by the municipal commission of Health and Family Planning, cancer has been the top cause of death for people in Beijing for seven consecutive years between 2007 and 2013.
The National Cancer Registration Center estimated that about 3.5 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed annually, and 2.5 million die from the disease, and "although Chinese people's livelihood has improved, cancer incidence and mortality have also been on the rise," said the deputy director of the center. A professor of tumor studies with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences said "The cancer crisis will continue to rise with a growing and aging population in China. It is an uphill battle for the country and closely related to everyone". (Source: Xinhua)