To promote the inheritance and innovative development of traditional Chinese medicine in our city, in accordance with the “Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine” (State Council General Office Document [2022] No. 5),the "Notice of the General Office of the Henan Provincial People’s Government on Issuing the Henan Province ‘14th Five-Year’ Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine" (Yu Zheng Ban [2022] No. 85), and the "Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through 2035 of Zhoukou City," this plan is hereby formulated.
I. Background of the Plan
(1) Development Foundation. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, our city’s work in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) achieved significant results. The development environment for TCM has been further optimized, the service system has been improved, service capacity has been substantially enhanced, talent development has been gradually strengthened, and the influence of TCM has continued to expand. The role of TCM in safeguarding public health and promoting economic and social development has been further demonstrated.
1. The development environment has been further optimized. A series of documents were successively issued, including the “Notice of the CPC Zhoukou Municipal Committee and the Zhoukou Municipal People’s Government on Issuing the <Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Inheritance and Innovative Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine>” (Zhou Fa [2020] No. 5),the “Notice of the General Office of the Zhoukou Municipal People’s Government on Issuing the Zhoukou City Strategic Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2016–2030)” (Zhou Zheng Ban [2017] No. 67), and other documents. A city-wide leading group for TCM work has been established and strengthened, and a TCM working mechanism characterized by government leadership, interdepartmental coordination, and collaborative development has taken initial shape.
2. The service system has been continuously improved. The city has cumulatively invested 280 million yuan to support infrastructure construction at county-level TCM hospitals. TCM clinics have been established in 116 township health centers (community health service centers) across the city, with a completion rate exceeding 80%.As of the end of 2020, the city had a total of 51 TCM hospitals of various levels and types, with 6,342 available beds. Both municipal and county-level general hospitals have established TCM departments. A TCM service system covering the municipal, county, township, and village levels has been preliminarily established, led by municipal and county TCM hospitals, supplemented by TCM departments in general hospitals, and grounded in township health centers (community health service centers) and village clinics.
3. Service capacity continues to improve. The city has established 3 provincial-level regional TCM specialty diagnostic and treatment centers, 9 specialty alliances, 12 distinctive TCM specialties, and 4 key TCM specialties. Eighty percent of county-level TCM hospitals meet the standards for Grade II Class A TCM hospitals. Five county-level TCM hospital relocation and new construction projects have been completed and put into use.
4. The level of primary-level services has continuously improved. Citywide, 95% of community health service centers and 98% of township health centers are capable of providing six or more types of TCM techniques and methods; 66.4% of village clinics can provide four or more types; and over 90% of family doctor contract teams offer TCM services. The proportion of TCM consultations at primary-level medical and health institutions reached 25.4%, effectively meeting the public’s demand for TCM care.
5. Talent development has been continuously advanced. The city actively participated in Henan Province’s “Young Talent Cultivation Program,” training 27 inheritors of traditional skills, 160 clinical backbone personnel, and 9 academic leaders, while providing standardized training for 147 TCM resident physicians.During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, 10 TCM professionals from the city served as vice-chairpersons of provincial-level professional committees, and 22 served as chairpersons of municipal-level professional committees; there was 1 master’s supervisor, 2 doctoral candidates, 175 master’s candidates, and 649 professionals with senior professional titles, marking a significant increase in the total number of high-level talents.
6. The TCM-related industry has developed healthily.In 2020, the total area under cultivation for Chinese herbal medicines in the city reached 90,400 mu, with a total output of 20,800 metric tons and a total output value of 266 million yuan. The city holds more than 180 national approval numbers for Chinese herbal medicines, hosts 10 Chinese herbal medicine manufacturing enterprises, and 11 enterprises specializing in health and wellness products and Chinese herbal medicine processing. Market share for products such as Ejiao Blood-Nourishing Paste, Pediatric Qingre Ning Granules, Huanglian Shangqing Tablets, and Qingkailing Injection has increased year by year.
7. TCM culture and health knowledge have been widely disseminated. We organized grassroots outreach activities to popularize TCM culture, promoting its integration into rural areas, communities, and households; conducted study sessions and legal education lectures on the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Traditional Chinese Medicine” to advance the sustainable and healthy development of the TCM sector in accordance with the law; and held the “Zhoukou’s Most Outstanding TCM Practitioners and Most Outstanding Grassroots TCM Practitioners” selection and commendation event to foster a collective drive for development.
8. The role of TCM in responding to major public health emergencies has continued to be demonstrated. By fully leveraging the unique advantages of TCM, we have improved the TCM prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation systems and mechanisms. We established municipal and county-level TCM expert groups for epidemic prevention and control, ensuring that TCM was deeply involved throughout the entire process of COVID-19 prevention and control efforts.
(II) Current Situation. The 14th Five-Year Plan period is a critical phase for our city as we embark on a new journey toward comprehensively building a modern socialist Zhoukou and composing a more brilliant chapter for Zhoukou in the new era. It is also a pivotal period for driving high-quality development in Zhoukou, during which the development of TCM faces new opportunities and challenges.
1. The development of TCM faces unprecedented historical opportunities. General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important statements regarding TCM; the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have prioritized the development of TCM and issued a series of major policy decisions; the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial Government, Municipal Party Committee, and Municipal Government attach great importance to TCM work and have introduced a series of policy measures; and the promulgation and implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Traditional Chinese Medicine have provided legal safeguards for the development of TCM.Currently, our city is comprehensively deepening the reform of the medical and health system and making every effort to build a “Healthy Zhoukou.” Significant achievements have been made in the development of the health sector, creating favorable conditions for expanding the scope of TCM services and promoting the inheritance and innovative development of TCM.
2. The development of TCM faces certain difficulties and challenges. Compared with the health needs of the people and the requirements of economic and social development, the development of TCM in our city still faces some issues and difficulties.Infrastructure in TCM hospitals is inadequate, and their comprehensive service capacity is weak; there is a shortage of high-quality TCM service resources, and the service capacity of grassroots TCM institutions needs to be improved; there is a shortage of TCM personnel and high-level TCM talent; TCM research capabilities are weak, with few achievements and low rates of commercialization; the level and quality of the TCM industry are not high, with weak clustering effects and unremarkable competitive advantages; and the policy and governance systems that adhere to the principles of TCM need further improvement.
II. General Requirements
(1) Guiding Principles
Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will thoroughly study General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on TCM work and fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. With high-quality development as the theme and the goal of building a strong city in TCM, we will focus on TCM system development, talent cultivation, capacity building, and industrial development. We will address shortcomings, strengthen weak areas, establish mechanisms, enhance capabilities, and promote development, thereby advancing the integrated development of TCM undertakings and industries to better leverage the role of TCM in building a healthy Zhoukou.
(2) Basic Principles
— Government-led, social participation. We will implement the government’s responsibilities for managing medical institutions and policies for the development of TCM, improve the institutional mechanisms for TCM development, and optimize the environment for TCM development. We will fully leverage the role of social forces in medical care, actively foster a market environment of equal participation and fair competition, and continuously stimulate the potential and vitality of TCM development.
— Inheritance and Innovation, Leveraging Distinctive Features. We will deeply explore and pass down the core concepts and essence of TCM, reinforce its distinctive characteristics and advantages, emphasize the application of modern science and technology, and promote the continuous development of TCM theory and practice, thereby fostering new characteristics and advantages through innovation.
——Coordinated Planning and Collaborative Development. We will adhere to the principle of giving equal emphasis to both traditional and Western medicine, vigorously promoting the comprehensive and coordinated development of TCM in healthcare, health preservation, scientific research, education, industry, and culture. We will optimize the allocation of TCM resources, build a health service system with TCM characteristics, strengthen the training of TCM professionals, and advance the high-quality development of the TCM sector and industry.
——People-centered, serving the public. Guided by the public’s health service needs, we will continuously improve the TCM service system and enhance service capabilities. We will fully leverage the important role of TCM in disease prevention, the treatment of major diseases, and rehabilitation, ensuring comprehensive and lifelong health protection for the people.
(3) Development Goals
1. Overall Objectives
By 2025, the policy framework for TCM development will be further refined, service capabilities will be further enhanced, and the accessibility and quality of TCM services will be further improved, with significant progress achieved across all key indicators of TCM development.
— Further improve the service system. Focus on building an integrated TCM service system that combines preventive healthcare, disease treatment, and rehabilitation. Establish a TCM service system covering prevention of disease, medical treatment, and rehabilitation at the municipal, county, and township levels.
— Service capacity will be further enhanced. More than 90% of county-level TCM hospitals will complete standardization, and efforts will be made to upgrade three county-level TCM hospitals to Grade III TCM hospitals. Three provincial-level regional TCM specialty diagnosis and treatment centers will be established, and each county-level TCM hospital will develop two TCM specialty departments with distinctive strengths. General and specialized hospitals at or above the county level will achieve standardized construction of TCM departments, and maternal and child health care institutions will establish TCM gynecology and pediatrics departments.All township health centers (community health service centers) will be equipped with standardized TCM clinics, with more than 25% designated as model TCM clinics, significantly improving access to TCM services.
——Further strengthening of talent development. The total number of TCM practitioners will grow steadily, the talent structure will become more rational, and the shortage of TCM service personnel in primary healthcare institutions will be significantly alleviated.
— Capabilities for inheritance and innovation have been further enhanced. Efforts to strengthen scientific research and innovation in TCM have been intensified, further unleashing the latent potential of technological innovation to support and lead the development of the TCM sector. A number of studios for the inheritance of renowned TCM practitioners have been established, and a cohort of TCM successors has been cultivated.
— Health services have been vigorously developed. Health service capabilities have been significantly enhanced, with continuous improvements in health preservation, elderly care, health management, nursing, rehabilitation, and health tourism, thereby fundamentally meeting the public’s multi-level and diverse TCM health needs.
— The quality and efficiency of TCM culture and industry have been improved. TCM cultural resources have been effectively developed and utilized, TCM science popularization has been widely disseminated, and social influence has been further enhanced. The TCM industry has achieved healthy development, with an initial industrial chain covering cultivation, production, processing, and market circulation taking shape.
2. Key Indicators
Name
2020
2025
Attributes
1. Number of Traditional Chinese Medicine medical institutions (units)
648
840
Projected
2. Number of Traditional Chinese Medicine hospitals (units)
57
70
Projected
3. Number of beds in public traditional Chinese medicine hospitals per 1,000 people
0.54
0.85
Projected
4. Number of licensed (assistant) TCM practitioners per 1,000 people
0.45
0.62
Projected
5. Number of general practitioners in traditional Chinese medicine per 10,000 people
0.42
0.79
Projected
6. Percentage of licensed (assistant) TCM physicians in public TCM hospitals at Level 2 and above (%)
57
60
Projected
7. Percentage of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals at Level 2 or above that have established a Department of Rehabilitation (Medicine)
90
100
Expected
8. Proportion of secondary-level public traditional Chinese medicine hospitals and integrated traditional and Western medicine hospitals (excluding specialized traditional Chinese medicine hospitals) that have established fever clinics (%)
—
100
Binding
9. Percentage of public traditional Chinese medicine hospitals at the secondary level or above that have established geriatric departments
—
90
Projected
10. Coverage rate of county-level traditional Chinese medicine medical institutions (hospitals, outpatient departments, clinics) (%)
—
100
Projected
11. Number of TCM beds in public general hospitals
347
430
Projected
12. Percentage of public general hospitals at Level 2 or above that have established clinical departments of traditional Chinese medicine
—
100
Projected
13. Percentage of maternal and child health hospitals at Level 2 or above that have established clinical departments of traditional Chinese medicine
—
90
Projected
14. Percentage of township health centers and community health service centers with TCM clinics
95
100
Projected
15. Citizens' Health Literacy in Traditional Chinese Medicine (%)
—
25
Expected
Note: 1. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) medical institutions include TCM hospitals (including integrated TCM-Western medicine hospitals), TCM outpatient clinics (including integrated TCM-Western medicine outpatient clinics), and TCM clinics (including integrated TCM-Western medicine clinics). 2. The statistical scope for the proportion of licensed (assistant) TCM physicians in public TCM hospitals at Level 2 or above excludes integrated TCM-Western medicine hospitals.
III. Main Tasks
(I) Optimizing the Traditional Chinese Medicine Service System
1. Strengthen leading TCM medical institutions. Accelerate the construction of the East Campus of Zhoukou Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and promote the upgrading of three county-level TCM hospitals to Grade III hospitals. Establish Henan Provincial Regional TCM Specialized Diagnostic and Treatment Centers for orthopedics, neurological disorders, and hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal diseases. Strengthen the leading role of municipal and county TCM hospitals in the inheritance, innovation, and development of TCM, enhance the capacity for TCM diagnosis and treatment of intractable, critical, and complex diseases within the region, and promote the expansion and balanced distribution of high-quality TCM medical resources.
2. Expand the capacity of core TCM medical institutions. Fulfill the government’s primary responsibility for managing public hospitals, increase fiscal investment in infrastructure development for public TCM hospitals, and continuously improve their infrastructure conditions. By 2025, all county-level TCM hospitals will meet the national construction standards for TCM hospitals and the standards for Grade II Class A TCM hospitals.
3. Strengthen the foundation of TCM services at the grassroots level. Deepen the implementation of the Action Plan for Enhancing Grassroots TCM Service Capabilities, comprehensively improving TCM service capabilities in areas such as medical treatment, rehabilitation, preventive healthcare, public health, and health education. All township health centers (community health service centers) will establish standardized TCM clinics, with more than 25% designated as model TCM clinics; all government-run community health service stations and more than 80% of village health clinics will be able to provide TCM services.
4. Strengthen TCM Departments in Other Medical Institutions. Guide general hospitals, specialized hospitals, and maternal and child health care institutions to continuously improve their comprehensive service functions by focusing on meeting the public’s diverse TCM service needs. These institutions should establish TCM clinical departments, herbal medicine dispensaries, decoction rooms, and treatment rooms that meet established standards; set up TCM outpatient clinics and TCM inpatient beds commensurate with the hospital’s scale; and equip themselves with TCM service facilities, equipment, and personnel.
5. Establish a diversified TCM service system. Encourage private entities to establish TCM medical institutions. Such institutions shall enjoy equal rights with government-run TCM medical institutions in terms of market access, practice, basic medical insurance, scientific research and teaching, and professional title evaluation for medical staff. At the same time, strengthen industry supervision to promote the standardized development of privately run TCM medical institutions.
6. Strengthen the development of TCM medical consortiums and county-level medical consortiums. Support TCM hospitals in taking the lead to establish medical consortiums and TCM specialty alliances, promote the development of TCM health management alliances for chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, and increase the coverage of TCM health management for key populations.
Box 1: Enhancing TCM Infrastructure Development
1. Bringing Public TCM Hospitals Up to Standard: Accelerate the construction of the East Campus of Zhoukou Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and increase investment in infrastructure for county-level TCM hospitals, ensuring that all municipal and county-level TCM hospitals meet national construction standards for TCM hospitals.
2. Quality Improvement and Upgrading of TCM Clinics in Primary Healthcare Institutions: Achieve full coverage of standardized construction for TCM clinics in township health centers (community health service centers), with provincial-level model TCM clinics accounting for more than 25% of the total.
(II) Enhancing the Capacity of Traditional Chinese Medicine to Serve Public Health
1. Leverage the strengths of TCM in disease treatment. Focusing on specialties such as orthopedics, proctology, pediatrics, dermatology, gynecology, acupuncture, and tuina, as well as specific conditions including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, kidney disease, lung disease, diabetes, and cancer, establish TCM specialty departments and promote diagnostic and treatment protocols for conditions where TCM excels.By 2025, municipal TCM hospitals will have established at least five TCM specialty departments with comparative advantages, and county-level TCM hospitals will have established at least seven such departments, thereby fostering the development of regional TCM medical centers or specialized TCM diagnostic and treatment centers. Increase local government investment in the infrastructure, talent development, specialty departments, and distinctive TCM features of TCM hospitals. Enhance the capacity of county-level healthcare institutions to provide TCM diagnostic and treatment services for common and frequently occurring diseases, emergency and critical care, and complex and intractable conditions among county residents.
2. Highlight the role of TCM in preventive healthcare. Implement the TCM Preventive Healthcare Health Upgrade Project. Establish preventive healthcare centers in municipal TCM hospitals, standardize the establishment of preventive healthcare departments in county-level TCM hospitals, and set up preventive healthcare service areas in primary healthcare institutions. Improve service facilities, strengthen staffing and equipment, and provide the public with integrated preventive healthcare services that combine health consultation and assessment, intervention and conditioning, and follow-up management.Promote 20 preventive care protocols suitable for the elderly, women, children, and patients with chronic diseases. Support primary healthcare institutions in providing TCM health management services, integrate TCM preventive care into family doctor contract services, and gradually increase the coverage of the service population year by year.
3. Enhance TCM Rehabilitation Service Capabilities. Implement the TCM Rehabilitation Service Capability Enhancement Project. Relying on the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, establish a city-wide TCM Rehabilitation Center and a training base for the promotion of TCM rehabilitation techniques; establish rehabilitation departments in county-level TCM hospitals and TCM rehabilitation treatment rooms in rehabilitation hospitals; and encourage other medical institutions to provide TCM rehabilitation services. Develop and promote TCM rehabilitation protocols for common conditions such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes. Encourage the research and development of TCM rehabilitation devices.Vigorously conduct training on TCM rehabilitation techniques, promote the integration of TCM rehabilitation into communities, households, and institutions, and foster the convergence of TCM, traditional Chinese sports, and modern rehabilitation technologies.
4. Strengthen the Service Guarantee for Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Grassroots Level. Implement the Grassroots Traditional Chinese Medicine Service Capacity Enhancement Project. Strengthen the substantive development of grassroots TCM clinics, promote appropriate TCM techniques, preventive healthcare protocols, and rehabilitation technologies, and advance the integration of medical treatment, preventive healthcare, and rehabilitation to meet the public’s diverse and multi-level demands for TCM services. Launch the creation of national model counties for grassroots TCM work to improve the quality and efficiency of grassroots TCM services.
5. Enhance TCM public health emergency response capabilities. Improve TCM prevention, control, and emergency response mechanisms for major epidemics and other public health emergencies. Establish and refine a collaborative TCM-Western medicine treatment mechanism for TCM participation in basic public health services, responses to public health emergencies, and the prevention and control of major infectious diseases; establish TCM epidemic prevention and control teams; and strengthen the development of specialized TCM clinical treatment expert teams.Conduct training on TCM prevention and treatment techniques to fully leverage the unique role of TCM in public health. Strengthen capacity building for infectious disease prevention and control; tertiary public TCM hospitals and eligible secondary public TCM hospitals shall establish departments of infectious diseases.
6. Enhance the level of integration between TCM and Western medicine. Strengthen collaboration and joint research between TCM and Western medicine in the treatment of major diseases, intractable diseases, critical and severe conditions, and infectious diseases; establish a joint TCM-Western medicine diagnosis and treatment system and collaborative mechanisms.Further establish and improve systems for the coordinated development of TCM and Western medicine in general hospitals; incorporate mechanisms for coordinated development and multidisciplinary diagnostic and treatment systems into hospital charters; integrate joint TCM-Western medicine rounds and consultations into hospital management systems; and, in accordance with the characteristics and principles of TCM, coordinate, optimize, and implement differentiated performance evaluations for TCM clinical departments to encourage and guide the provision of TCM services.
Box 2: Enhancing the Capacity for Traditional Chinese Medicine Services
1. Cultivating Specialty Departments with Comparative Advantages: Support Zhoukou Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in becoming a provincial-level regional TCM specialty diagnostic and treatment center; establish TCM specialty departments with comparative advantages in municipal and county-level TCM hospitals to form clusters of specialized departments, thereby promoting the balanced distribution of high-quality TCM resources.
2. Building TCM Public Health Emergency Response Capabilities: Strengthen the capacity of TCM hospitals for infectious disease prevention and control; establish infectious disease departments in tertiary TCM hospitals and eligible secondary TCM hospitals; develop emergency response and treatment capabilities in TCM hospitals; establish TCM epidemic prevention and control teams; and improve mechanisms for TCM participation in the prevention and control of major infectious diseases and emergency response to public health incidents.
3. TCM Preventive Healthcare Upgrade Project: TCM hospitals at the secondary level and above shall establish standardized Preventive Healthcare Departments, promote TCM preventive intervention protocols, and integrate the TCM concept of preventive healthcare into the entire process of health promotion, major disease prevention and control, and disease diagnosis and treatment.
4. TCM Rehabilitation Service Capacity Enhancement Project: Support municipal-level TCM hospitals in establishing city-wide TCM rehabilitation centers and training bases for the promotion of TCM rehabilitation techniques; promote the standardized establishment of rehabilitation departments in all tertiary and secondary TCM hospitals.
5. Project to Enhance Primary-Level TCM Service Capabilities: Improve the primary-level TCM service network covering counties, towns, and villages; strengthen the development of service content at TCM clinics; promote appropriate TCM technologies; integrate TCM into family doctor contract services; and gradually increase the coverage of TCM health management. Launch the creation of national model counties for primary-level TCM work. Improve the accessibility of TCM services and the capacity to safeguard public health.
(III) Enhancing the Development of TCM Talent
1. Strengthen the cultivation and recruitment of high-level talent. Implement the TCM Talent Excellence Program. Support public TCM hospitals in collaborating with TCM institutions within and outside the province, as well as strong Grade III Class A TCM hospitals, to jointly cultivate TCM talent, including specialty (discipline) leaders and top-tier professionals. Fully implement the city’s talent recruitment policies and establish a fast-track for TCM talent recruitment. Actively seek participation in TCM talent development projects such as the Qihuang Project and the Zhongjing Project to cultivate high-level TCM professionals.
2. Expand the TCM workforce at the grassroots level.Refine policies for TCM practitioners to work at the grassroots level, prioritizing them in areas such as job recruitment and professional title promotions. Implement employment policies for rural order-based, tuition-free TCM medical students, ensuring equal pay for equal work and appropriate salary benefits. Increase the number of special positions for general practitioners and the proportion of TCM physicians under the “county-managed, township-used” system, ensuring that TCM physicians account for at least 25% of the total medical staff in township health centers (community health service centers).Support graduates of Chinese herbal medicine programs in working at primary-level healthcare institutions, gradually ensuring that each township health center (community health service center) is staffed with at least one Chinese herbal medicine specialist. Prioritize the recruitment of healthcare technicians to township health centers (community health service centers) from among graduates of TCM programs, with their base salaries funded by the government. Support TCM professionals, including doctoral and master’s degree holders, in working at public TCM hospitals; provide subsidies to employers for talent development expenses, and fully implement relevant policies regarding staffing quotas and welfare benefits.Support township health centers (community health service centers) and TCM hospitals in establishing positions for TCM (specialized skills) physicians, and hire individuals with proven expertise in TCM medical techniques to work in hospitals, thereby promoting the inheritance and development of distinctive folk therapeutic methods.
3. Strengthen the training of TCM successors. Support “National Masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine,” “Nationally Renowned TCM Practitioners,” and academic schools of TCM at the national and Henan provincial levels in establishing TCM inheritance studios in our city; support renowned senior TCM practitioners in our city in establishing TCM inheritance studios to cultivate successors; encourage medical institutions to conduct apprenticeship-based education; and support outstanding TCM physicians in applying to serve as mentors for the National Inheritance Studios of Renowned Senior TCM Experts, the National Inheritance Studios of Renowned Senior TCM Experts at the Grassroots Level, and the National Program for Inheriting the Academic Experience of Senior TCM Experts.
4. Strengthen the training of key TCM professionals. Establish county-level centers for the promotion of appropriate TCM technologies and enhance training for grassroots medical personnel in the use of appropriate TCM techniques for common and frequently occurring diseases. Support the development of the standardized residency training base at Zhoukou Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Support eligible general hospitals in applying to become training institutions for non-TCM physicians to study TCM, and facilitate such training programs.
Column 3: Traditional Chinese Medicine Talent Development Program
1. Cultivation and Recruitment of High-Level Talent: Implement the TCM Talent Excellence Program, combining recruitment with cultivation, and employing multiple measures to foster specialty (discipline) leaders and top-tier talent.
2. Training of TCM Successors: Support the establishment of TCM Succession Studios, encourage apprenticeship-based education, and cultivate successors of TCM.
3. Cultivation of Core TCM Talent: Establish county-level centers for the promotion of appropriate TCM technologies and standardized training bases for TCM residents to cultivate grassroots TCM technical personnel and core TCM professionals.
4. Training for “Western Medicine to Traditional Chinese Medicine” Professionals: Provide training in Traditional Chinese Medicine for physicians from non-TCM disciplines to cultivate professionals skilled in the integration of Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
(IV) Accelerating the Development of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry
1. Strengthen the Competitive Edge of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Enhance surveys and conservation efforts for medicinal plant resources and establish a medicinal plant resource database. Utilize modern scientific and technological methods to improve the selection and breeding of medicinal plants, cultivating high-quality varieties. Develop medicinal plants that are suited to our city’s soil and climate—and have a history of cultivation here—into authentic regional medicinal materials. Establish standardized, regulated, and large-scale cultivation and production bases to enhance the quality and market competitiveness of medicinal plants.Promote the deep integration of herbal medicine cultivation with rural revitalization, extend technical training for herbal cultivation to grassroots levels, and explore a “enterprise + cooperative + farmer” development model for herbal cultivation to continuously extend the industry’s value chain. Actively cultivate and support high-quality Chinese herbal slice processing and pharmaceutical enterprises, encourage pharmaceutical companies to produce traditional Chinese medicines, and promote the circulation of local herbal materials and industrial transformation. Support the research, development, and production of traditional Chinese medicine products.
2. Strengthen and Optimize the Modern Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry. Actively leverage our city’s traditional strengths in traditional Chinese medicine and herbal supplements, advance R&D projects at pharmaceutical enterprises, and accelerate the development of distinctive, innovative traditional Chinese medicines with proven efficacy and high clinical value. Support traditional Chinese medicine enterprises in refining their industrial chains and launching projects for raw material cultivation and breeding services.Support pharmaceutical enterprises in leading the establishment of a municipal-level Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Research Institute to promote the development of locally distinctive TCM decoction pieces and classic formulas, as well as the secondary development and application of renowned and high-quality major varieties. Advance research on key technologies such as TCM production, formulation, and comprehensive quality control. Fully leverage the brand influence of time-honored pharmaceutical enterprises to explore classic formulas and develop new TCM drugs based on compound preparations, active fractions, and active ingredients.Actively support the development of high-quality decoction pieces and formula granules, with a focus on advancing the development of “precisely standardized decoction pieces” and related technological innovations. Comprehensively improve production techniques and management standards for decoction pieces and formula granules, and establish advanced R&D and manufacturing bases.
3. Strengthen the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Services. Actively develop the traditional Chinese medicine health services sector, encourage social entities to establish TCM wellness and health care service institutions, and strengthen the standardized management of such institutions. Increase policy support by providing assistance to projects in the TCM industry, wellness and health care, TCM-based elderly care services, and TCM health tourism in areas such as spatial planning, industrial layout, land supply, and tax policies.
4. Optimize the Development Environment for the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry. Deepen the “streamlining administration, delegating power, and improving services” reform in the traditional Chinese medicine sector, optimize administrative approval procedures, and boost the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry. Support well-known pharmaceutical enterprises in producing and operating authentic traditional Chinese medicinal materials, traditional Chinese medicine products, and traditional Chinese medicine health supplements in our city. Encourage pharmacies to innovate their business methods and provide high-quality traditional Chinese medicine products to the public. Strengthen market supervision of traditional Chinese medicinal materials and decocted herbal slices, crack down severely on illegal and non-compliant activities, standardize market operating order, and ensure the quality and safety of traditional Chinese medicinal materials and decocted herbal slices.
5. Support the promotion and use of TCM preparations in medical institutions. Support TCM hospitals in establishing in-house preparation centers to promote the research, development, production, use, and promotion of TCM preparations.Within regional TCM specialty diagnostic and treatment centers, targeted assistance programs, medical alliances, and medical consortiums, as well as during periods of sudden public health emergencies, TCM preparations may be dispensed and used in accordance with established standards. We encourage the exploration and systematization of traditional TCM preparation techniques and support the research and development of TCM preparations in clinical-oriented medical institutions. We will implement a priority review and approval system for TCM based on clinical value. We will optimize and standardize the filing management of TCM preparations in medical institutions.
Box 4: Development of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Industry
1. Standardized Cultivation of Chinese Medicinal Materials: Rationally plan and layout cultivation bases for Chinese medicinal materials; utilize modern science and technology to promote their cultivation; and establish a group of production bases featuring standardized, normalized, and large-scale cultivation of Chinese medicinal materials.
2. Strengthening and Filling Gaps in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Chain: Relying on our city’s “high-end, specialized, and precision” TCM enterprises, conduct high-level research and development of common key technologies in the field of modern TCM, promote clinical research and industrialization of a range of innovative TCM products, and establish a number of R&D and manufacturing bases.
3. Development of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Services Industry: Encourage and support the exploration and establishment of a comprehensive, diversified, multi-tiered, and full-chain traditional Chinese medicine health industry based on local strengths; build traditional Chinese medicine health industry clusters; and achieve creative value transformation.
(V) Promoting the Prosperity of Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture
1. Uncovering and Inheriting the Essence of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Strengthen efforts to excavate, organize, develop, and protect historical and cultural resources of Traditional Chinese Medicine; compile and publish historical and cultural materials on Traditional Chinese Medicine; establish educational and promotional bases for Traditional Chinese Medicine culture; and create a cultural brand for Traditional Chinese Medicine. Uncover and organize traditional Chinese medicine formulation techniques; collect and screen folk herbal prescriptions and techniques; and promote the application of traditional skills and proven formulas in clinical practice through collaborative development and benefit-sharing.Strengthen the protection and utilization of traditional TCM knowledge. Encourage municipal and county-level TCM hospitals to establish collections of ancient TCM texts and, where conditions permit, to build digital libraries. Support the publication of academic works on TCM culture and increase efforts to protect and pass down representative projects of intangible cultural heritage in traditional medicine.
2. Promote the dissemination of TCM culture. Implement the TCM Cultural Dissemination Initiative and the TCM Health Culture Promotion Initiative to bring TCM culture and health knowledge to rural areas, communities, and households.Leveraging TCM clinics in township health centers (community health service centers), community residents’ committees, and rural community activity centers, establish TCM health culture knowledge corners. Integrate traditional media—such as display boards, physical exhibits, models, TCM wellness and health preservation experience equipment, and TCM reading corners—with new media—such as electronic touchscreens and LED screens—to promote the core values, fundamental concepts, and health preservation knowledge of TCM culture.Promote the integration of TCM culture throughout the national education system; support the establishment of TCM courses in primary and secondary schools; encourage TCM practitioners to teach TCM health and wellness knowledge in schools; and advance the introduction of TCM culture into campuses. Promote the construction of TCM cultural education bases, TCM museums, TCM experience venues, and TCM-themed parks to create platforms for promoting TCM culture and strongholds for its dissemination.
Column 5: Dissemination of Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture
1. Research on TCM Culture: Support research on the history and culture of TCM and the publication of academic works on TCM culture.
2. TCM Health Culture Dissemination Initiative: Establish TCM health culture knowledge corners to disseminate the core values, fundamental concepts, and health preservation knowledge of TCM culture. Promote the integration of TCM culture into schools. Support the construction of cultural dissemination platforms such as TCM publicity and education bases, TCM museums, TCM cultural experience venues, and TCM-themed parks.
3. Preservation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture: Protect, restore, and utilize cultural relics, artifacts, intangible cultural heritage, and other valuable historical sites related to Traditional Chinese Medicine. Strengthen the protection of traditional TCM techniques.
(VI) Strengthening the Development of TCM Information Technology
Accelerate the construction of an integrated citywide health information platform, and promote the application, optimization, and upgrading of the TCM clinic health information platform. Advance the development of smart TCM hospitals that integrate smart medical care, smart services, and smart management. Establish TCM internet hospitals and develop telemedicine and internet-based medical services. Innovate “Internet Plus” TCM service models that benefit the public, and encourage hospitals to provide online TCM health services to patients.Strengthen the informatization of central TCM pharmacies and support the establishment of centralized TCM pharmacies that are informatized, intelligent, convenient, and standardized. Actively apply emerging information technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the internet to advance the academic inheritance and technological innovation of TCM.
Column 6: Information Technology Development in Traditional Chinese Medicine
1. TCM Information Network Development: Advance the construction of information systems with a focus on electronic medical records and hospital management. Promote the optimization and upgrading of the TCM clinic health information platform to achieve full coverage. Support information sharing and remote operational collaboration among county, township, and village-level TCM services within county-level medical consortiums.
2. “Internet Plus Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Services” Initiative: Develop new healthcare service models such as TCM telemedicine, mobile healthcare, and smart healthcare, and establish internet hospitals and central TCM pharmacies.
(VII) Enhancing Governance Capabilities and Management Standards for Traditional Chinese Medicine
1. Improve the TCM management system. Establish a management system aligned with the development objectives and industry-specific characteristics of TCM. Create integrated management mechanisms and policy advisory mechanisms for both TCM practice and the TCM industry, and coordinate TCM-related work across the city. Each county (city, district) must identify and refine the institutions responsible for TCM management, ensuring clear and complete organizational structures, sound management mechanisms, and appropriate staffing.
2. Strengthen the legal framework for TCM. Implement the "Henan Province Regulations on Traditional Chinese Medicine." Enhance supervision over TCM medical services and the production and operation of Chinese herbal medicines, and increase penalties for violations. Establish and improve TCM supervision and law enforcement agencies, allocate sufficient personnel, and form expert organizations for TCM supervision and law enforcement. Provide training for TCM supervisors on basic TCM knowledge, laws and regulations, emergency response, and typical case studies to enhance their capabilities and proficiency.
3. Improve evaluation systems and management mechanisms tailored to the characteristics of TCM. Refine the management evaluation and performance appraisal systems for TCM hospitals, with a focus on TCM characteristics and foundational management. Establish and improve quality management and control systems for TCM medical services, and strengthen the development of quality control centers for TCM medical records and pharmaceutical affairs management.Explore the establishment of an efficacy evaluation system for TCM preparations in medical institutions. Establish a modern hospital management system that reflects the characteristics of TCM hospitals, promoting a shift in the development model of public TCM hospitals from scale expansion to quality and efficiency improvement, a shift in operational models from extensive management to refined management, and a shift in resource allocation from an emphasis on material factors to a greater emphasis on talent and technical factors.
4. Improve pricing and medical insurance policies for traditional Chinese medicine. Establish a goal-oriented management mechanism for TCM service pricing items, optimize existing TCM pricing items, improve management policies for newly added TCM service pricing items, and expand the range of TCM pricing items. Establish and improve a responsive yet measured dynamic price adjustment mechanism, conduct timely price adjustment evaluations, and give priority to TCM medical service items in the dynamic adjustment of medical service prices; the adjusted prices for TCM medical services should reflect the technical and labor value of TCM medical personnel.Medical institutions shall be allowed to set their own prices for TCM decoction pieces processed and TCM preparations compounded for use within their facilities. Appropriate preferential treatment shall be given in terms of global budget allocation to closely integrated county-level medical consortia led by TCM medical institutions. General TCM medical service items shall be paid for on a fee-for-service basis. Explore the implementation of a diagnosis-related group (DRG) payment model for TCM conditions, select TCM conditions, reasonably determine point values, and implement dynamic adjustments.Prioritize the inclusion of TCM disease categories identified by the state as having a comparative advantage within the scope of diagnosis-related group (DRG) payment. Explore the implementation of capitation-based payment for certain chronic diseases and improve relevant technical standards to encourage primary healthcare institutions to provide appropriate TCM services. Designate eligible TCM medical institutions as designated medical institutions for medical insurance and major illness treatment programs. Include appropriate TCM medical service items and Chinese herbal medicines (including hospital-prepared formulations, decocted herbal slices, and herbal granules) within the scope of medical insurance coverage in accordance with regulations.Outpatient use of TCM decoction pieces, hospital-prepared TCM formulations, and non-pharmacological therapies will be reimbursed at 100%. Expand the scope of TCM techniques and TCM materials (including TCM decoction pieces, proprietary Chinese medicines, and TCM formulations) covered by medical insurance reimbursement. Increase support for primary healthcare institutions in providing TCM services. Leverage the distinctive features and advantages of TCM—simplicity, convenience, effectiveness, and affordability—to ensure TCM better serves the grassroots and the public.
Column 7: Building the TCM Governance and Management System
1. Rule of Law: Implement the "Henan Province Regulations on Traditional Chinese Medicine" and strengthen supervision over TCM medical services and the production and operation of Chinese herbal medicines.
2. Capacity Building for TCM Supervision: Strengthen training for TCM supervision personnel to enhance their professional competence and expertise.
IV. Support Measures
(1) Strengthening Organizational Leadership. Strengthen the leadership of the Party and government over TCM work, and include it in the national economic and social development plans of all counties (cities, districts). Enhance the coordinating functions of the Leading Group for TCM Work, improve the interdepartmental collaboration mechanism for TCM work, promptly study and resolve important issues, and form a powerful synergy for the development of TCM.
(2) Improving the Funding Mechanism. Establish a sustainable and stable multi-source funding mechanism for the development of TCM. Allocate funds for TCM initiatives within the overall health and wellness budget and increase support. Ensure the government fulfills its primary responsibility for the operation of public TCM hospitals, and implement government funding policies regarding infrastructure construction, equipment procurement, the development of key disciplines, and talent cultivation. Encourage counties (cities, districts) to establish TCM development funds that are government-guided, involve social participation, and operate on a market-oriented basis.
(3) Strengthen Monitoring and Evaluation. Enhance coordination between municipal and county-level plans and reinforce institutional safeguards for plan implementation. Establish a plan monitoring and evaluation mechanism to conduct mid-term and final evaluations of implementation progress, assess the implementation of key tasks, major projects, and significant reform measures, promptly identify and resolve implementation issues, and ensure that the plan’s objectives and tasks are completed on schedule.
(4) Foster a Supportive Environment. Vigorously publicize the achievements in the inheritance, innovation, and development of TCM to enhance public awareness of TCM. Timely summarize and promote successful practices to serve as exemplary models. Strengthen scientific guidance and public oversight to actively foster a favorable social atmosphere where the entire society cares about and supports the development of TCM.
