translated by Michael Woodhead
Top doctors have called on hospitals to drop the requirement for would-be doctors to take part in medical research to qualify for a position, saying it is a waste of resources and leads to corruption.
At a meeting of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Committee (CPPCC) in Guangzhou, leading doctors told the meeting that the academic research requirement was superfluous and prevented front-line doctors from doing useful clinical work.
Professor Hu Xueqiang, head of the neurology department at the Sun Yatsen University 3rd Hospital said academic research was a waste of time for doctors who spent their careers doing surgery and treating large numbers of patients for everyday complaints.
"To work at our hospital young doctors need to have written papers and show they have done some research for their professional evaluation, but we have 50-year old doctors at primary level hospitals who are excellent at their job who have never had to do this. They are steadfast workers, the backbone of the system," he said.
He was supported by Dr Zhai Ziwen, director of the respiratory department at the No 1 Renmin Hospital in Guangzhou, who said: "It doesn't matter hospital you want to work at, the requirements are for research papers. But which primary level hospital needs clinicians with research skills? And anyway, 90% of this so-called research submitted with applications is fraudulent," he said.
Many other doctors at the meeting strongly agreed, with some saying that the academic research requirements led to academic corruption as would-be doctors needed connections ('guangxi') with professors to get a research project. "This diverts funds and resources from real research," they said.
Dr Zhao said there was a need for a more balanced system, allowing major academic hospitals to continue using the current system but also permitting basic level hospitals to drop the requirements for academic research. "The one size fits all system is not suitable for primary level hospitals," he said.
Other doctors told the meeting that the current system was biased against smaller hospitals and was leading to systemic corruption.
Guangzhou deputy governor Lin Shaochun told the CPPCC meeting that he appreciated the depth of the problem and would work towards an effective solution in conjunction with the provincial health department human resources department.
Source: Sohu
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Hainan hospital pays doctors based on patient feedback
by Michael Woodhead
At the Renmin Hospital in Hainan's Baoting district, doctors dare not displease the patient because their pay depends on having 'satisfied customers'. Their pay is linked to ratings given by patients on a 24-item service questionnaire. Items reviewed include the bedside manner of doctors, nurses being on duty and available in the clinic and the standard of cleanliness on the ward etc.
In the admin block of the hospital these appraisal forms are in a huge pile, and divided into 26 clinical departments.
The idea came from a partnership with a Shandong hospital whose staff wanted to think of a way to improve service quality. They come up with the idea of having anonymous questionnaires filled in by all patients. The results of the forms are compiled for each department o a monthly basis, giving administrators a clearer idea of areas where service is rated as good fair or unsatisfactory.
Last year the surgical department, for exampe, scored 100% for its service levels, thus ensuring that staff got all 100% of their bonus pay. The paeiatrics department scored 94%, meaning that staff lost 6% of their pay.
Before the scheme, some staff were fairly lukewarm in the way they welcomed and dealt with pateints. Now they are much more careful and give more attention, in the knowledge that their income depends on giving a good impression, a hospital manager says.
Staff are now seen to be smiling and take the initiative, and they speak to pateints more to explain things, he says.
This new system encourages staff to make improvements and has revolutionised the staff approach to patients. In this way, for example, the satisfaction levels in one child clinic increased from 78% to 98% in just over a year.
Source: Haikou News
At the Renmin Hospital in Hainan's Baoting district, doctors dare not displease the patient because their pay depends on having 'satisfied customers'. Their pay is linked to ratings given by patients on a 24-item service questionnaire. Items reviewed include the bedside manner of doctors, nurses being on duty and available in the clinic and the standard of cleanliness on the ward etc.
In the admin block of the hospital these appraisal forms are in a huge pile, and divided into 26 clinical departments.
The idea came from a partnership with a Shandong hospital whose staff wanted to think of a way to improve service quality. They come up with the idea of having anonymous questionnaires filled in by all patients. The results of the forms are compiled for each department o a monthly basis, giving administrators a clearer idea of areas where service is rated as good fair or unsatisfactory.
Last year the surgical department, for exampe, scored 100% for its service levels, thus ensuring that staff got all 100% of their bonus pay. The paeiatrics department scored 94%, meaning that staff lost 6% of their pay.
Before the scheme, some staff were fairly lukewarm in the way they welcomed and dealt with pateints. Now they are much more careful and give more attention, in the knowledge that their income depends on giving a good impression, a hospital manager says.
Staff are now seen to be smiling and take the initiative, and they speak to pateints more to explain things, he says.
This new system encourages staff to make improvements and has revolutionised the staff approach to patients. In this way, for example, the satisfaction levels in one child clinic increased from 78% to 98% in just over a year.
Source: Haikou News
Beijing to extend family doctor enrolment scheme
So long as they have a health card and access to a computer, most Beijing residents will this year be able to enrol with a family doctor to get easier access to healthcare. The family doctor scheme that is currently operating in areas such as Fangzhuang and Desheng will be extended to cover most districts of Beijing in the next year according to the local department of health. At present the scheme covers 4 million households and almost 9 million people, according to the Legal Evening News (Fazhi Wanbao).
Under the scheme, residents must sign a contract with the 'health team' at their local community clinic and register with a specific doctor to receive regular appointments. This ensures continuity of care and guaranteed access to the doctor via an appointment system. The advantage of the scheme for patients is that they do not need to go to a large hospital and face long waits to register and bee seen in the outpatient clinics.
According to the health department, the scheme is now extensively used by residents in the initial areas, and the average income for doctors in the scheme is around 80,000RMB, about half the income of doctors working in the tertiary hospital.
Under the scheme, residents must sign a contract with the 'health team' at their local community clinic and register with a specific doctor to receive regular appointments. This ensures continuity of care and guaranteed access to the doctor via an appointment system. The advantage of the scheme for patients is that they do not need to go to a large hospital and face long waits to register and bee seen in the outpatient clinics.
According to the health department, the scheme is now extensively used by residents in the initial areas, and the average income for doctors in the scheme is around 80,000RMB, about half the income of doctors working in the tertiary hospital.
Undercover teams bust Shanghai hospitals for violating new anti-smoking rules
About 7% of Shanghai's hospitals and health facilities have been found to be in violation of new anti-smoking policies in an investigation by undercover 'smoker detectives'. Secret visits to 437 health establishments in the city found that 29 were not complying with the new rules that stipulate a series of anti-smoking measures be put in place. The three main areas of non-compliance were lack of anti-smoking materials such as posters and signs; staff allowed to be smoking unchallenged in non-smoking public areas such as doorways and stairwells, and the lack of indoor designated smoking areas.
Source: Guangming Daily
Source: Guangming Daily
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Hospitals warned of disciplinary action for illegal organ transplants
translated by Michael Woodhead
All hospitals in China that do organ transplantation must follow new ethical guidelines or face being banned from doing transplants and losing their funding, a senior official has warned.
Hospitals will also be banned from making arrangements with courts to accept organs from executed prisoners.
Dr Huang Jiefu, director of the the National Health and Family Planning Commission Committee on Human Organ Transplant Clinical Application Management, said all 169 transplant centres will have to take part in a new organ donation supervision and inspection system that will ensure that the system for transplants is fair, open and ethical.
Speaking at China's annual meeting of organ transplantation specialists at Shanghai Jiaotong University, he said any hospital and any practitioner that does not adhere to the voluntary donation system and the shared organ program after the death of a patient will have their authority to do transplants revoked and also have funding removed.
Dr Huang said all hospitals must take part in the new computerised organ sharing database set up by the former Ministry of Health and the Red Cross Society. All organ transplants must be done according to the principles of the new system, which are based on clinical need and priority rather than financial payment, he said. Priority categories for organ donation should be region, condition , age, wait time and meeting screening requirements.
The new system also means that hospitals must sever all links with law courts to procure organs from executed prisoners, he added.
The new human organ donation regulations " strictly prohibit hospitals and transplant organs and the courts to have a direct link to use organs, and all organs sources should be traceable," said Dr Huang
With the support of the State Council , the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Red Cross Society of China will jointly set up an Organ Donation and Transplantation Management Committee.
All hospitals in China that do organ transplantation must follow new ethical guidelines or face being banned from doing transplants and losing their funding, a senior official has warned.
Hospitals will also be banned from making arrangements with courts to accept organs from executed prisoners.
Dr Huang Jiefu, director of the the National Health and Family Planning Commission Committee on Human Organ Transplant Clinical Application Management, said all 169 transplant centres will have to take part in a new organ donation supervision and inspection system that will ensure that the system for transplants is fair, open and ethical.
Speaking at China's annual meeting of organ transplantation specialists at Shanghai Jiaotong University, he said any hospital and any practitioner that does not adhere to the voluntary donation system and the shared organ program after the death of a patient will have their authority to do transplants revoked and also have funding removed.
Dr Huang said all hospitals must take part in the new computerised organ sharing database set up by the former Ministry of Health and the Red Cross Society. All organ transplants must be done according to the principles of the new system, which are based on clinical need and priority rather than financial payment, he said. Priority categories for organ donation should be region, condition , age, wait time and meeting screening requirements.
The new system also means that hospitals must sever all links with law courts to procure organs from executed prisoners, he added.
The new human organ donation regulations " strictly prohibit hospitals and transplant organs and the courts to have a direct link to use organs, and all organs sources should be traceable," said Dr Huang
With the support of the State Council , the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Red Cross Society of China will jointly set up an Organ Donation and Transplantation Management Committee.
Medical news from China: the Wednesday headlines
Non-smokers who working in restaurants in China have a much higher risk of serious disease and death from exposure to second hand smoke, researchers in Beijing have shown. In a study published in PLOS Medicine,
researchers showed that there were thousands of excess deaths among
non-smokers who worked as staff in restaurants and bars in China.
"These health risks and deaths can be prevented by banning smoking in restaurants and bars and effectively implementing these smoking bans," they said.
Two more cases of H7N9 influenza have been reported in Shanghai this week. A 58-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man shave been hospitalised with the infection, the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission said yesterday. It was not reported whether they had contact with live poultry.
Also in Shanghai, the rate of gallstones in the city has reached 10% due to unhealthy lifestyles such as high-fat diets, medical experts have said. Doctors from Shanghai Hongkang Hospital said they treated about 5,000 gallstone patients a year, two to three times the number of five years ago.
A novel bacteria has been found in China's water supply and it could pose a great threat to health, doctors from Guangzhou have warned. The tropical cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii was found in most reservoirs for drinking water supply in Dongguan they report in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
"These health risks and deaths can be prevented by banning smoking in restaurants and bars and effectively implementing these smoking bans," they said.
Two more cases of H7N9 influenza have been reported in Shanghai this week. A 58-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man shave been hospitalised with the infection, the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission said yesterday. It was not reported whether they had contact with live poultry.
Also in Shanghai, the rate of gallstones in the city has reached 10% due to unhealthy lifestyles such as high-fat diets, medical experts have said. Doctors from Shanghai Hongkang Hospital said they treated about 5,000 gallstone patients a year, two to three times the number of five years ago.
A novel bacteria has been found in China's water supply and it could pose a great threat to health, doctors from Guangzhou have warned. The tropical cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii was found in most reservoirs for drinking water supply in Dongguan they report in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
Nanjing Hospital - lack of trust means doctors carry pepper spray and perform defensive medicine
Doctors in Nanjing say the complete breakdown in trust between hospitals and patients means that clinical staff now carry pepper spray for their own protection against attacks, and carry out many unnecessary tests just to protect their own back.
In an article in the Guangming Daily doctors say that in the 'old days' before a routine procedure such as an appendix removal doctors would simply have nurses prepare the patient and ask them if they were allergic to penicillin. Now staff have to routinely test all patients for infectious diseases such as syphilis and HIV because otherwise they fear being accused by pateints with these infections that they were picked up in hospital. These additional tests mean patients have to pay more money, adding to the dissatisfaction. Doctors say that patients and their families now query every single action and intervention by the doctors, making their lives miserable and prolonging consultation times.
In an article in the Guangming Daily doctors say that in the 'old days' before a routine procedure such as an appendix removal doctors would simply have nurses prepare the patient and ask them if they were allergic to penicillin. Now staff have to routinely test all patients for infectious diseases such as syphilis and HIV because otherwise they fear being accused by pateints with these infections that they were picked up in hospital. These additional tests mean patients have to pay more money, adding to the dissatisfaction. Doctors say that patients and their families now query every single action and intervention by the doctors, making their lives miserable and prolonging consultation times.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Henan surgeons remove 0.5kg lump of hair from 12-year-old girl's stomach
Source: Dahe Bao
Medical stories from the Chinese language press: why won't people use community clinics?
EastDay.com has a story about why Chinese people still prefer to take all their ailments direct to a high level hospital rather than seek treatment in a local community clinic. The main reason, it seems, is 'peace of mind' for pateints and their families in getting the right diagnosis. If patients go to a community clinic and are told their illness is only minor, they feel a nagging sense of unease that the local doctor may have got the diagnosis wrong or the small clinic may not have had the best equipment to do diagnostic tests and scans. On the other hand, if the clinic decides the illness is serious and refers the patient to the 'big hospital' the patient then feels they have wasted their time at the local clinic and could have saved time and money going direct to the higher level hospital.
The article gives two case histories of patients who expressed frustration at their vague diagnosis and treatment at community clinics. One patient was told she might be having a heart attack, and only had this ruled out at the major hospital. Another patient believed her child had a congenital defect and was unable to have this checked properly at the local clinic and had to go to the Children's Hospital to have this ruled out.
The article says that around 70% of patients presenting at major hospitals have only minor illness and could be treated equally well at local clinics. However, for the time being there is little willingness among the public to rely on these clinics, it concludes.
The article gives two case histories of patients who expressed frustration at their vague diagnosis and treatment at community clinics. One patient was told she might be having a heart attack, and only had this ruled out at the major hospital. Another patient believed her child had a congenital defect and was unable to have this checked properly at the local clinic and had to go to the Children's Hospital to have this ruled out.
The article says that around 70% of patients presenting at major hospitals have only minor illness and could be treated equally well at local clinics. However, for the time being there is little willingness among the public to rely on these clinics, it concludes.
Medical stories from the Chinese language press: H7N9 in Guangzhou
The Guangzhou Daily has a story about a local patient who developed H7N9 influenza, and how the family's ability to pay (or not) has influenced his treatment. A teacher called Pan has been hospitalised at the Nanfang Hospital after developing severe respiratory disease. The paper reports that Mr Pan and his wife ran a tofu staff in the Tianhe distrcit, and their stal was next door to a stall that sold live poultry, where they presume the H7N9 infection originated. Mr Pan's family say they took him to several hospitals in the days leading up to the 9th of January, but none suspected that he had H7N9 or tested him for it.
A spokesman for the health dept said hospitals can't test for H7N9 in every patient who presents with respiratory symptoms, and only suspect the infection if a person has close contact with poultry. The hospital said Mr Pan was now receiving the best treatment and was now out of danger. However, his family said they were having to spend 10,000 yuan a day on his treatment. The paper says the government has set up a 3 million yuan fund to pay for treatment of patients who have H7N9 infection.
A spokesman for the health dept said hospitals can't test for H7N9 in every patient who presents with respiratory symptoms, and only suspect the infection if a person has close contact with poultry. The hospital said Mr Pan was now receiving the best treatment and was now out of danger. However, his family said they were having to spend 10,000 yuan a day on his treatment. The paper says the government has set up a 3 million yuan fund to pay for treatment of patients who have H7N9 infection.
Medical stories from the Chinese media: girl dies after infusion to treat common cold
A four year old girl died at a hospital in Anshan, Liaoning after receiving an IV tonic infusion as treatment for a cold. The parents of the girl took her to the Angang Group Main Hospital when she had a cold. She received an IV infusion but started to gasp and feel short of breath and asked to have the drip removed. When the parents asked the doctor to do this he refused and said it was too much trouble and the girl should just try to sleep. The article says the patrents saw their daughter struggling for half an hour and begged the doctor to remove the infusion line, but he refused. The girl then lapsed into unconsciousness and died.
A spokesman for the hospital said everything was done to try save the child, but treatment was unsuccessful, and staff had not done anything wrong. He said an investigation was underway and would have to wait until results of the autopsy and tests on the drug infusion were available.
The article is published at Qianzhan.com
A spokesman for the hospital said everything was done to try save the child, but treatment was unsuccessful, and staff had not done anything wrong. He said an investigation was underway and would have to wait until results of the autopsy and tests on the drug infusion were available.
The article is published at Qianzhan.com
Chinese medical research ... from the journals
A text messaging scheme that sent lifestyle reminders to overweight adults in Beijing was effective in helping them lose weight. In a six months trial the texting service helped participants lose an average of 1.6kg and also reduced waist circumference, body fat and lowered their blood pressure by almost 2mmHg. The findings are published in Obesity.
Three out of every 10 Chinese children develop asthma, a major survey has found. A survey of almost 464,000 children found that the incidence of asthma was 3% overall, and slightly higher in males than in females. The highest rates were seen in preschool children (3-5 years old) and in East China. More than 60% of children with asthma had an attack in the previous year and went to hospital for emergency treatment. Bronchodilators were used by 71% of asthmatic children while 59% used an inhaled corticosteroid and 75% used antibiotic, according to the study by the National Cooperative Group of Childhood Asthma.
Dengue fever is on the increase in China and the risk is rising in line with temperatures, a study from Guangdong has found. Researchers at the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of dengue fever had increased from 0.33 per 100 000 people in 2007 to 1.34 per 100,000 in 2012. The risk of disease increased with rises in temperature, humidity and wind, researchers report in Biomedical and Environmental Sciences.
Three out of every 10 Chinese children develop asthma, a major survey has found. A survey of almost 464,000 children found that the incidence of asthma was 3% overall, and slightly higher in males than in females. The highest rates were seen in preschool children (3-5 years old) and in East China. More than 60% of children with asthma had an attack in the previous year and went to hospital for emergency treatment. Bronchodilators were used by 71% of asthmatic children while 59% used an inhaled corticosteroid and 75% used antibiotic, according to the study by the National Cooperative Group of Childhood Asthma.
Dengue fever is on the increase in China and the risk is rising in line with temperatures, a study from Guangdong has found. Researchers at the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of dengue fever had increased from 0.33 per 100 000 people in 2007 to 1.34 per 100,000 in 2012. The risk of disease increased with rises in temperature, humidity and wind, researchers report in Biomedical and Environmental Sciences.
Monday, 13 January 2014
Beijing female doctor jailed for 6 months for bomb scare attempt to stop boyfriend flying with other women
Dr Yang Liu, the head of the health protection department for Beijing's Haidian district has been jailed for 6 months for staging a fake bomb alert at Beijing Capital airport in September. A Beijing court heard that Dr Yang acted out of jealousy against her boyfriend, who was a tour guide who often went away on trips with tour groups.
When her boyfriend told Dr Yang he was taking a group to Australia, Dr Yang became suspicious and believed he would be travelling with a mistress. Her suspicions grew when she was unable to contact her boyfriend by phone after he left. She then hatched a scheme to make him miss his connecting flight to Australia by delaying his flight from Beijing to Shanghai, where he would board the plane for Australia.
According to Xinhua, She phoned in a recorded message that announced there was a bomb on the Beijing to Shanghai flight. The message caused a major security alert at Beijing airport including mobilisation of 16 police cars, 4 police trucks and a 64-strong SWAT team.
The security alert caused major disruption at the airport and large economic losses.
Dr Yang was arrested a short time afterwards and when she was brought to court she hid her face and cried, looking very depressed. She confessed her guilt and asked for leniency, saying she had not realised how much trouble her scheme would cause. She said she was very remorseful and asked to be given a second chance. the court sentenced her to the standard six month jail sentence for staging a fake terrorist activity.
When her boyfriend told Dr Yang he was taking a group to Australia, Dr Yang became suspicious and believed he would be travelling with a mistress. Her suspicions grew when she was unable to contact her boyfriend by phone after he left. She then hatched a scheme to make him miss his connecting flight to Australia by delaying his flight from Beijing to Shanghai, where he would board the plane for Australia.
According to Xinhua, She phoned in a recorded message that announced there was a bomb on the Beijing to Shanghai flight. The message caused a major security alert at Beijing airport including mobilisation of 16 police cars, 4 police trucks and a 64-strong SWAT team.
The security alert caused major disruption at the airport and large economic losses.
Dr Yang was arrested a short time afterwards and when she was brought to court she hid her face and cried, looking very depressed. She confessed her guilt and asked for leniency, saying she had not realised how much trouble her scheme would cause. She said she was very remorseful and asked to be given a second chance. the court sentenced her to the standard six month jail sentence for staging a fake terrorist activity.
China's paediatrician shortage reaches crisis point
by Michael Woodhead
An article in Dalian's local paper the Peninsula Morning News has highlighted the real world impact of China's chronic shortage of paediatricians.
The paper notes that local children's hospitals have been unable to recruit paediatricians for some time, and currently had no replies to the latest 'situations vacant' ad for child doctors. In addition, many existing staff have resigned.
The "Bandao Chenbao" says the paediatric workforce problem is due to the familiar reasons of low pay, low status, high stress, long and inconvenient working hours and danger of being assaulted by the public.
With starting salaries of little more than 4000 yuan a month, few are attracted to paediatrics when a similar income can be made from working as a 'baomu' (childminder) in Guangzhou. Insiders ask why would anyone go through 5 years of medical school then another three years of a masters degree and internship to do a job that pays so little and requires so much input in terms of paperwork and bureaucracy? In addition to the long period of study, paediatricians have a heavy burden of exams and also a huge amount of medical file paperwork to keep up with. And dealing with children, they are often the target of assaults and abuse from parents and family members when things don't go according to their expectations. Those who know the job say that it requires a lot of night shift work and working long unsociable hours.
The root cause of the problem is under-investment in the medical system and the low fees charged to patients. This means that there are few resources to support doctors and thus doctors must deal with a high number of patients each day. Inevitably with such as high throughput and scant resources, mistakes occur, and it is the doctor on the front line who gets the blame. It is a vicious circle as more doctors leave, so the remainder face even greater pressures.
The article says the situation is not confined to Dalian, but is a national problem that needs to be addressed by training more doctors but more importantly by putting more resources into the system to support doctors and reduce the number of patients seen per day.
An article in Dalian's local paper the Peninsula Morning News has highlighted the real world impact of China's chronic shortage of paediatricians.
The paper notes that local children's hospitals have been unable to recruit paediatricians for some time, and currently had no replies to the latest 'situations vacant' ad for child doctors. In addition, many existing staff have resigned.
The "Bandao Chenbao" says the paediatric workforce problem is due to the familiar reasons of low pay, low status, high stress, long and inconvenient working hours and danger of being assaulted by the public.
With starting salaries of little more than 4000 yuan a month, few are attracted to paediatrics when a similar income can be made from working as a 'baomu' (childminder) in Guangzhou. Insiders ask why would anyone go through 5 years of medical school then another three years of a masters degree and internship to do a job that pays so little and requires so much input in terms of paperwork and bureaucracy? In addition to the long period of study, paediatricians have a heavy burden of exams and also a huge amount of medical file paperwork to keep up with. And dealing with children, they are often the target of assaults and abuse from parents and family members when things don't go according to their expectations. Those who know the job say that it requires a lot of night shift work and working long unsociable hours.
The root cause of the problem is under-investment in the medical system and the low fees charged to patients. This means that there are few resources to support doctors and thus doctors must deal with a high number of patients each day. Inevitably with such as high throughput and scant resources, mistakes occur, and it is the doctor on the front line who gets the blame. It is a vicious circle as more doctors leave, so the remainder face even greater pressures.
The article says the situation is not confined to Dalian, but is a national problem that needs to be addressed by training more doctors but more importantly by putting more resources into the system to support doctors and reduce the number of patients seen per day.
Lancet welcomes China's new anti-smoking laws but questions whether they will be implemented
An editorial in the Lancet has welcomed the Chinese government's recent announcement of increased anti-smoking measures to be led by government officials. However, the medical journal queations whether the new rules will be effectively implemented given the large number of smokers and the way that smoking is embedded in everyday life in China. It also questions whether the Chinese government will be willing to forfeit the huge revenues from tobacco.
The next step is to introduce a full ban on smoking in indoor areas and increase taxes on tobacco, the journal says.
The next step is to introduce a full ban on smoking in indoor areas and increase taxes on tobacco, the journal says.
Bayer enters three year research partnership with Peking University
Bayer HealthCare and Peking University (PKU) have signed a collaboration agreement on a three-year strategic partnership to promote translational research for drug discovery. The two partners will establish a joint research center at Peking University under the name Bayer HealthCare/Peking University Center of Translational Research for Drug Discovery (BPC/TRDD).
According to Bayer, the collaboration will focus on applying basic research to drug discovery in the therapeutic areas of cardiology, oncology, hematology, and gynecological therapy, as well as technological research along the drug-discovery and -development value chain.
Bayer HealthCare will provide funding for collaborative research projects and sponsor a Bayer Professorship and Bayer Investigator Awards.
According to Bayer, the collaboration will focus on applying basic research to drug discovery in the therapeutic areas of cardiology, oncology, hematology, and gynecological therapy, as well as technological research along the drug-discovery and -development value chain.
Bayer HealthCare will provide funding for collaborative research projects and sponsor a Bayer Professorship and Bayer Investigator Awards.
Recommended reading: Zhang Lijia on the mental health of migrant workers
Migrant workers suffer from a wide range of mental disorders, caused by their working situation, according to Zhang Lijia at the CNN-website. Her findings are based on recent research by Yu Cheng,Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou. "We just have to pay more attention to mental diseases as they can lead to suicide," said Cheng.
He recommends compulsory mental health testing in the workplace and a practice he calls "positive psychological intervention" -- setting up hotlines and counseling services and providing workers with more opportunities to socialize.
China Herald.
He recommends compulsory mental health testing in the workplace and a practice he calls "positive psychological intervention" -- setting up hotlines and counseling services and providing workers with more opportunities to socialize.
China Herald.
The medical news headlines from China
From the English-language media:
Parents of dead girl unhappy at being unable to donate corneas
The parents of a 2-year old girl who died in a Hunan hospital say they were unable to donate her corneas because the local Red Cross didn’t answer its phone.
Shanghai Daily
Shanghai not affected by hepatitis B vaccine scare
Health authorities in Shanghai say there has been no scare in the city over hepatitis B vaccination following fatalities linked with the vaccine and no noticeable drop in the rate of hepatitis B vaccinations.
Shanghai Daily
China opens up health service sector to overseas investors
China will allow some foreign investors to set up hospitals in all parts of the country and will streamline approval procedures for health-related institutions. Investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan now can run their own hospitals in cities at prefecture level or above, not just provincial capital cities. Investors from foreign countries can now set up solely funded medical institutions in the newly established Shanghai Free Trade Zone or certain other regions.
Peoples Daily
Taiwan investors not interested in Chinese healtcare secotr
The new market-opening measures announced for Chinese healthcare have been met with a lukewarm response from Taiwan's healthcare community. Medical sources said that unless manpower recruitment and health insurance coverage issues can be resolved, the new opening policy is not likely to attract further Taiwanese investment in China's hospitals.
Focus Taiwan
Nursing home fees vary widely
Average monthly fees for a nursing home in urban Beijing are 3,300 yuan whereas in the suburbs it is 1,800 yuan per month, a survey shows. Of the 56 institutions surveyed, the most expensive charges 7,000 yuan per month.
Beijing Daily
Five new H7N9 cases
Five new human cases of H7N9 influenza have been reported from Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang yesterday reported a total of five new human cases of H7N9 bird flu, including one death.
Shanghai Daily
Parents of dead girl unhappy at being unable to donate corneas
The parents of a 2-year old girl who died in a Hunan hospital say they were unable to donate her corneas because the local Red Cross didn’t answer its phone.
Shanghai Daily
Shanghai not affected by hepatitis B vaccine scare
Health authorities in Shanghai say there has been no scare in the city over hepatitis B vaccination following fatalities linked with the vaccine and no noticeable drop in the rate of hepatitis B vaccinations.
Shanghai Daily
China opens up health service sector to overseas investors
China will allow some foreign investors to set up hospitals in all parts of the country and will streamline approval procedures for health-related institutions. Investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan now can run their own hospitals in cities at prefecture level or above, not just provincial capital cities. Investors from foreign countries can now set up solely funded medical institutions in the newly established Shanghai Free Trade Zone or certain other regions.
Peoples Daily
Taiwan investors not interested in Chinese healtcare secotr
The new market-opening measures announced for Chinese healthcare have been met with a lukewarm response from Taiwan's healthcare community. Medical sources said that unless manpower recruitment and health insurance coverage issues can be resolved, the new opening policy is not likely to attract further Taiwanese investment in China's hospitals.
Focus Taiwan
Nursing home fees vary widely
Average monthly fees for a nursing home in urban Beijing are 3,300 yuan whereas in the suburbs it is 1,800 yuan per month, a survey shows. Of the 56 institutions surveyed, the most expensive charges 7,000 yuan per month.
Beijing Daily
Five new H7N9 cases
Five new human cases of H7N9 influenza have been reported from Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang yesterday reported a total of five new human cases of H7N9 bird flu, including one death.
Shanghai Daily
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Zhejiang researchers identify the two greatest risk factors for H5N1 avian flu infection
After analysing an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in Zhejiang in 2011-12, researchers have the two main risk factors for infection as being in close proxiity to poultry and being somewhere wehere large numbers of birds are bred.
In a study of 3,453 environmental samples, 3% tested positive for H5 avian influenza virus and 4.7% of 1,169 people tested seropositive for anti-H5N1 antibodies. The H5N1 virus detection rate was highest in poultry slaughtering and processing plants (14.6%). and the most common sources of infection were sewage (4.5%), drinking water (3.1%), faeces (2.3%), cage surface (2.0%), and slaughtering chopping boards (7.0%). The two main risk factors for infection were direct or close contact with poultry (five fold higher risk) and breeding numerous poultry (four-fold higher risk). Source: Journal of Thoracic Diseases
In a study of 3,453 environmental samples, 3% tested positive for H5 avian influenza virus and 4.7% of 1,169 people tested seropositive for anti-H5N1 antibodies. The H5N1 virus detection rate was highest in poultry slaughtering and processing plants (14.6%). and the most common sources of infection were sewage (4.5%), drinking water (3.1%), faeces (2.3%), cage surface (2.0%), and slaughtering chopping boards (7.0%). The two main risk factors for infection were direct or close contact with poultry (five fold higher risk) and breeding numerous poultry (four-fold higher risk). Source: Journal of Thoracic Diseases
Saturday, 11 January 2014
"Corridor doctor" becomes whistleblower hero in official media for exposing waste and corruption in hospital
by Michael Woodhead
A Sichuan doctor who was banished from her office and had to practice in a hospital corridor for two years after exposing waste and corruption has been portrayed as a hero in China's national media.
According to a major report in Xinhua, Dr Lan Yuefeng was removed from her post as head of the imaging department at Mianyang Renmin Hospital two years ago after she queried overtreatment of patients and the hospital's obsession with income from commissions on drugs and procedures.
Despite losing her work office, Dr Lan is said to have continued coming into work at the hospital, where she stood in a corridor, occasionally consulting patients for minor illness. The media reports say she was shumnned by other staff and nobody would talk to journalists about her case.
When interviewed by a journalist, Dr Lan said she had been fired for questioning the system that encouraged overtreatment. The final straw was when she vetoed a recommendation for a patient with stable cardiovascular disease to have a pacemaker fitted. After that the hospital administration stood her down from her post.
Dr Lan said the hospital had become driven by a profit mentality, and each department had been set quotas for patients treated and targets for operations and procedures that made the most profits. She said the commission system was like a sickness and equivalent to theft from the patients. Not only was it causing waste, financial burden and uncessary treatment, it was also harmful for patients, she said.
The director of the hospital refused to comment on the case, and referred enquiries to the city's propaganda department. A spokesman for the department did not refute the allegations.
A Sichuan doctor who was banished from her office and had to practice in a hospital corridor for two years after exposing waste and corruption has been portrayed as a hero in China's national media.
According to a major report in Xinhua, Dr Lan Yuefeng was removed from her post as head of the imaging department at Mianyang Renmin Hospital two years ago after she queried overtreatment of patients and the hospital's obsession with income from commissions on drugs and procedures.
Despite losing her work office, Dr Lan is said to have continued coming into work at the hospital, where she stood in a corridor, occasionally consulting patients for minor illness. The media reports say she was shumnned by other staff and nobody would talk to journalists about her case.
When interviewed by a journalist, Dr Lan said she had been fired for questioning the system that encouraged overtreatment. The final straw was when she vetoed a recommendation for a patient with stable cardiovascular disease to have a pacemaker fitted. After that the hospital administration stood her down from her post.
Dr Lan said the hospital had become driven by a profit mentality, and each department had been set quotas for patients treated and targets for operations and procedures that made the most profits. She said the commission system was like a sickness and equivalent to theft from the patients. Not only was it causing waste, financial burden and uncessary treatment, it was also harmful for patients, she said.
The director of the hospital refused to comment on the case, and referred enquiries to the city's propaganda department. A spokesman for the department did not refute the allegations.
Scrub typhus - a growing problem for China and it's spreading to Beijing
by Michael Woodhead
A study by Beijing researchers has shown that life threatening scrub typhus remains an important public health problem in China, and action is need to curb its spread into areas such as Beijing.
Scrub typhus is a serious infection for which there still no effective and reliable vaccine and no point-of-care diagnostics available.
Dr Zhang Wen-Yi and co-workers from the Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing analysed surveillance data and found that there has been a sharp increase in cases of the disease, with 27,391 confirmed cases of scrub typhus reported in China during 2006–2012
Scrub typhus cases were mainly located in areas of high population density in southeastern and southwestern China, "indicating that many millions of people are at risk of infection," they report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Most scrub typhus cases occurred between July and November, which may be associated with increased exposure to infected chigger mites during the harvest season. The disease was common in elderly farmers and in rural children, perhaps due to exposure during outdoor play .
"Importantly, this study identified a primary cluster located in 176 counties of Guangdong Province, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, and Guangxi Province, which is considered the main persistent foci of scrub typhus in China. These areas should be targeted by policy-makers and local service providers for the establishment of refined disease control guidelines, including local vector control, health education, and promotion campaigns."
Their study also identified other newly-identified high-risk clusters of scrub typhus, including some cases in the capital Beijing, that resulted from the importation of infection from other provinces in 2007.
A study by Beijing researchers has shown that life threatening scrub typhus remains an important public health problem in China, and action is need to curb its spread into areas such as Beijing.
Scrub typhus is a serious infection for which there still no effective and reliable vaccine and no point-of-care diagnostics available.
Dr Zhang Wen-Yi and co-workers from the Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing analysed surveillance data and found that there has been a sharp increase in cases of the disease, with 27,391 confirmed cases of scrub typhus reported in China during 2006–2012
Scrub typhus cases were mainly located in areas of high population density in southeastern and southwestern China, "indicating that many millions of people are at risk of infection," they report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Most scrub typhus cases occurred between July and November, which may be associated with increased exposure to infected chigger mites during the harvest season. The disease was common in elderly farmers and in rural children, perhaps due to exposure during outdoor play .
"Importantly, this study identified a primary cluster located in 176 counties of Guangdong Province, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, and Guangxi Province, which is considered the main persistent foci of scrub typhus in China. These areas should be targeted by policy-makers and local service providers for the establishment of refined disease control guidelines, including local vector control, health education, and promotion campaigns."
Their study also identified other newly-identified high-risk clusters of scrub typhus, including some cases in the capital Beijing, that resulted from the importation of infection from other provinces in 2007.
Friday, 10 January 2014
Stop fudging measles figures, health authorities told
Local health authorities have been given a stern warning to improve their reporting of measles cases and to ensure they do not under-report or ignore measles outbrekas.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission has issued the warning in an effort to contain what is says is an increasingly worrying resurgence in measles in China.
The NHFPC says all local health departments must take active steps to ensure that measles monitoring and reporting system are in place and are operating effectively. It warns against under-reporting or cases or of failing to report outbreaks of the infectious disease.
It is increasingly clear that the resurgence of measles is a very grim situation. Infection prevention, monitoring and control networks must be implemented, the NHFPC said.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission has issued the warning in an effort to contain what is says is an increasingly worrying resurgence in measles in China.
The NHFPC says all local health departments must take active steps to ensure that measles monitoring and reporting system are in place and are operating effectively. It warns against under-reporting or cases or of failing to report outbreaks of the infectious disease.
It is increasingly clear that the resurgence of measles is a very grim situation. Infection prevention, monitoring and control networks must be implemented, the NHFPC said.
Doctors and hospitals ordered to forfeit bribes paid by insulin manufacturer Ganli Pharmaceuticals
Doctors and hospitals in Hubei have been ordered to forfeit and repay millions of dollars in bribes they received from insulin maker Beijing Ganli Pharmaceuticals.
The provincial Health Deaprtment and Law Courts have orederd doctors to repay monies paid by the insulin maker following a police investigation that saw seven executives charged with corruption.
In September, Beijing Ganli, which makes third generation insulins, was embroiled in a major corruption scandal involving bribes to doctors and hospitals exceeding 300 million yuan.
According to 21st Century magazine, the case has been classed as a major economic crime by provincial authorities, and those who received bribes have been ordered to forfeit the money. According to the magazine, the bribes were not confined to Wuhan but included doctors and hospitals in other cities of the province.
The provincial Health Deaprtment and Law Courts have orederd doctors to repay monies paid by the insulin maker following a police investigation that saw seven executives charged with corruption.
In September, Beijing Ganli, which makes third generation insulins, was embroiled in a major corruption scandal involving bribes to doctors and hospitals exceeding 300 million yuan.
According to 21st Century magazine, the case has been classed as a major economic crime by provincial authorities, and those who received bribes have been ordered to forfeit the money. According to the magazine, the bribes were not confined to Wuhan but included doctors and hospitals in other cities of the province.
Imported schistosomiasis a risk as China develops closer links with Africa
Experts in parasitic disease say imported schistosomiasis is an increasing problem for China as more Chinese travel to Africa
Dr Lu Ping and colleagues from the Key Laboratory of Technology on Parasitic Disease in
Wuxi say that the chronic, debilitating parasitic disease caused by trematode blood flukes is a major public health threat for China. Writing in the Journal of Travel Medicine, they say that at present, only S. japonicum is endemic in China. However, more and more imported cases infected with African schistosomes (including S. mansoni and S. hematobium) are reported owing to the sharp growth in China-aided projects in Africa and labor services exported to Africa. Since 1979, a total of 147 cases infected with S. mansoni and 283 cases infected with S. hematobium have been reported until now, including the two S. hematobium-infected workers returning from Tanzania and Angola They note that there are now over a million Chinese workers now residing in Africa, who have a high risk of exposure to African schistosomiasis, and many infected individuals are asymptomatic and seldom seek care and have a high rate of missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis due to the lack of knowledge on African schistosomiasis;
"Therefore, it is considered that the actual number of the Chinese infected with African schistosomes may be greatly underestimated.
And once the infected cases, as sources of infection of schistosomiasis, are imported to regions where the snail intermediate hosts of African schistosome are present, there is a high likelihood of transmission of African schistosomiasis in China, they say.
A systematic surveillance and evaluation program for schistosome infections in returners from African countries is urgently required under the organization of health sections, entry-exit inspection and quarantine sections, and commerce sections, they suggest.
Dr Lu Ping and colleagues from the Key Laboratory of Technology on Parasitic Disease in
Wuxi say that the chronic, debilitating parasitic disease caused by trematode blood flukes is a major public health threat for China. Writing in the Journal of Travel Medicine, they say that at present, only S. japonicum is endemic in China. However, more and more imported cases infected with African schistosomes (including S. mansoni and S. hematobium) are reported owing to the sharp growth in China-aided projects in Africa and labor services exported to Africa. Since 1979, a total of 147 cases infected with S. mansoni and 283 cases infected with S. hematobium have been reported until now, including the two S. hematobium-infected workers returning from Tanzania and Angola They note that there are now over a million Chinese workers now residing in Africa, who have a high risk of exposure to African schistosomiasis, and many infected individuals are asymptomatic and seldom seek care and have a high rate of missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis due to the lack of knowledge on African schistosomiasis;
"Therefore, it is considered that the actual number of the Chinese infected with African schistosomes may be greatly underestimated.
And once the infected cases, as sources of infection of schistosomiasis, are imported to regions where the snail intermediate hosts of African schistosome are present, there is a high likelihood of transmission of African schistosomiasis in China, they say.
A systematic surveillance and evaluation program for schistosome infections in returners from African countries is urgently required under the organization of health sections, entry-exit inspection and quarantine sections, and commerce sections, they suggest.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
HPV a risk factor for oesophageal cancer as well as cervical cancer: Chinese study
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is
known to be associated with cervical cancer and now Chinese researchers have
shown that HPV plays a similar role in the etiology of oesophageal cancer.
According to a study in the Archives of Virology, researchers in Linzhou, Henan, found that
infection with high risk HPV types was the risk for both cervical dysplasia and
oesophageal cancer by four fold.
China's 'diabetes epidemic' debunked
A study that appeared to show that China is experiencing a rapid rise in diabetes has been debunked by critics who say the apparent increase in diabetes was caused by the researchers measuring a different variable.
In September Dr Xu Yu of the Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine published a study in JAMA which showed that the prevalence of diabetes had increased to 12% of adults Chinese. The prevalence of 'pre-diabetes' was said to be at 50%. However in a letter published in JAMA this week Dr Kristine Faerch of the Steno Diabetes Center, Denmark, says the alarming figures published Dr Xu are a false alarm caused by the measurement of different parameters, not a true change in the rates of diabetes.
Dr Faerch says the rates of diabetes were increased by adding the HbA1c criterion to the diagnosis of diabetes and using the lower diagnostic threshold for impaired fasting glucose of 100 mg/dL instead of 110 mg/dL.
When more conventional methods of measuring diabetes are used, the rates of diabetes are unchanged from the last study done two years ago, at around 9.7%, she notes. Also the rates of pre-diabetes will be 15% rather than the 50% suggested by Dr Xu's study, she adds.
Another letter in JAMA says Dr Xu's study would also overestimate levels of diabetes because it ignored non-residents of cities such as migrant workers, college students, and military personnel who would likely have lower levels of diabetes.
In September Dr Xu Yu of the Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine published a study in JAMA which showed that the prevalence of diabetes had increased to 12% of adults Chinese. The prevalence of 'pre-diabetes' was said to be at 50%. However in a letter published in JAMA this week Dr Kristine Faerch of the Steno Diabetes Center, Denmark, says the alarming figures published Dr Xu are a false alarm caused by the measurement of different parameters, not a true change in the rates of diabetes.
Dr Faerch says the rates of diabetes were increased by adding the HbA1c criterion to the diagnosis of diabetes and using the lower diagnostic threshold for impaired fasting glucose of 100 mg/dL instead of 110 mg/dL.
When more conventional methods of measuring diabetes are used, the rates of diabetes are unchanged from the last study done two years ago, at around 9.7%, she notes. Also the rates of pre-diabetes will be 15% rather than the 50% suggested by Dr Xu's study, she adds.
Another letter in JAMA says Dr Xu's study would also overestimate levels of diabetes because it ignored non-residents of cities such as migrant workers, college students, and military personnel who would likely have lower levels of diabetes.
Medical waste, dirty toilets and unfair organ donation: in the media
Heavy fines and other punishments will be used to deter illegal disposal of medical waste, authorities in China have said. According to CRI, public and private organisation that illegally collect, store, transport
and handle medical waste will have their licenses revoked and will be
heavily fined by the National Health and
Family Planning Commission.
In Shanghai, the local health department has said it will introduce improvements such as make it easier to book appointments and improve cleanliness of toilets at local hospitals, after a survey found patients were unsatisfied with several aspects of hospitals. Other improvements include more variety of food, showing the prices of medical services, and encouraging medical staff to be more polite to patients.
China's new computerised organ donor system is likely to be inaccesible to many, it has been conceded. The new system that aims to provide fairer districbution of organs from 165 transplant hospitals will only work if all institutions follow regulations strictly said a spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
In Shanghai, the local health department has said it will introduce improvements such as make it easier to book appointments and improve cleanliness of toilets at local hospitals, after a survey found patients were unsatisfied with several aspects of hospitals. Other improvements include more variety of food, showing the prices of medical services, and encouraging medical staff to be more polite to patients.
China's new computerised organ donor system is likely to be inaccesible to many, it has been conceded. The new system that aims to provide fairer districbution of organs from 165 transplant hospitals will only work if all institutions follow regulations strictly said a spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
Beijing women deficient in vitamin D during pregnancy
Pregnant women in Beijing are deficient
in vitamin D researcher have found. A study of 125 pregnant women found a 97%
prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L) and almost half of
women were severely vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D < 25 nmol/L). Duration of
sun exposure and the use of multivitamin were the most important determinants
for vitamin D status, according to the report in PLOS One.
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
In Shanghai, doctors shun ambulance service
If you are wondering why it may take more than an hour for an ambulance to arrive when you dial 120 in Shanghai, the head of the city's emergency response centre can give you several good reasons - and lack of ambulances isn't one of them.
Shanghai has more than enough ambulances, but not enough qualified 'first responder' emergency specialist doctors to staff them, according to Dong Jun, deputy director of the city's emergency service said.
The city of 24 million has only 164 qualified ambulance staff to cover the city centre and a quarter of them resigned last year. Two years ago the city ambulance service had 311 doctors but 234 of them have since resigned and only a few replacements could be recruited. Many of these are trainees and cannot yet operate as emergency physicians on ambulances, Dr Dong said.
The ambulance service finds it hard to recruit emergency doctors because the work is seen as low paid, high pressure and with long hours. It is also seen as having poor career prospects, he added.
The city therefore has introduced a triage system in which 'first aiders' are sent out in ambulances when the operator believes it is a less urgent illness. The service also tries to dissuade the public from using the ambulance service as an 'efficient taxi service' for people with minor illnesses, he adds.
Doctors are reserved for more serious cases, but there still are not enough to cope. Dr Dong says it has been impossible to recruit local doctors to the service since the year 2000, and they now advertise nationwide.
According to a report in the Eastern Daily, the Shanghai ambulance service is under such pressure that staff often have to exceed their shifts by several hours to catch up on paperwork and to help clean and disinfect the vehicles. Dr Dong himself has had to step in and act as a driver or even to carry stretchers, he admits.
However, there are still delays and this is the source of many complaints from the public. Staff are sometimes assaulted when they arrive late to a call. Without adequate resources and better career structures, it will continue to be difficult to provide medical staff for Shanghai's ambulance services, he concludes.
Shanghai has more than enough ambulances, but not enough qualified 'first responder' emergency specialist doctors to staff them, according to Dong Jun, deputy director of the city's emergency service said.
The city of 24 million has only 164 qualified ambulance staff to cover the city centre and a quarter of them resigned last year. Two years ago the city ambulance service had 311 doctors but 234 of them have since resigned and only a few replacements could be recruited. Many of these are trainees and cannot yet operate as emergency physicians on ambulances, Dr Dong said.
The ambulance service finds it hard to recruit emergency doctors because the work is seen as low paid, high pressure and with long hours. It is also seen as having poor career prospects, he added.
The city therefore has introduced a triage system in which 'first aiders' are sent out in ambulances when the operator believes it is a less urgent illness. The service also tries to dissuade the public from using the ambulance service as an 'efficient taxi service' for people with minor illnesses, he adds.
Doctors are reserved for more serious cases, but there still are not enough to cope. Dr Dong says it has been impossible to recruit local doctors to the service since the year 2000, and they now advertise nationwide.
According to a report in the Eastern Daily, the Shanghai ambulance service is under such pressure that staff often have to exceed their shifts by several hours to catch up on paperwork and to help clean and disinfect the vehicles. Dr Dong himself has had to step in and act as a driver or even to carry stretchers, he admits.
However, there are still delays and this is the source of many complaints from the public. Staff are sometimes assaulted when they arrive late to a call. Without adequate resources and better career structures, it will continue to be difficult to provide medical staff for Shanghai's ambulance services, he concludes.
Hepatitis B vaccine in China: the unanswered questions
Commentary by Michael Woodhead
The deaths of 17 Chinese infants reported as having have followed hepatitis B vaccination are a tragedy that needs to be be fully investigated. When the first deaths occurred, the suspicion lay with a vaccine made by Shenzhen BioKangtai, with reports that certain batches of the vaccine were linked to the deaths of newborns in several provinces who had received vaccines with the specific batch number. Matters then became confused when reports were made of deaths of infants who had received other vaccines, including one made by a company called Beijing Tiantan. In all, 17 deaths have been officially reported in relation to hepatitis B vaccine.
When the first deaths were reported, the China Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) ordered a halt to the use of the Biokangtai vaccine in China's newborn vaccination program and an investigation into the vaccine used.
After a rapid investigation of less than two weeks it has been announced that no problems have been found with the batches of Biokangtai's vaccine reportedly involved in the deaths and adverse reactions. The SFDA has also found no problems in the manufacturing, storage, transport or injection of the vaccine. Nevertheless, manufacturing permissions have been suspended for the three major manufacturers of hepatitis B vaccine, on the grounds that their facilities had not met the new GMP criteria for vaccine prodiction that came into effect on 1 January.
Post-mortem investigations into the infant deaths have also excluded the vaccine in nine cases, so far, and the other eight cases are waiting for autopsy results. Thus the hepatitis B infant vaccination campaign has quickly been given the all clear by the various authorities, and this verdict has been endorsed by the local branch of the WHO. The WHO representative rightly pointed out that the hepatitis B program was based on a good vaccine and prevented many cases of diseases and death every year. However, the announcement about the vaccine being safe was met with anger from some of the families of the children who died, and there has been disbelief on online forums about the "all clear" verdict from netizens who have little faith in monitoring of safety and quality of foods and medicines in China.
Despite the endorsement of WHO, there are still areas of doubt and unanswered questions in relation to the safety of China's hepatitis B vaccine and other child vaccine programs. First of all, if a vaccine was not responsible for the infant deaths, what was or were the real causes? With millions of newborns being vaccinated it is statistically probable that some natural infant deaths will co-incide with the time of vaccination. But the reports of 17 deaths in association with hepatitis B vaccination require in-depth investigation. Another question is whether it is possible to confidently rule out the vaccine as a possible factor in the cause of death. The investigations into the child deaths and into the vaccine quality and usage were done very quickly, raising questions about how thorough and comprehensive they were. There was also little transparancy about the process.
By comparison, when a similar series of vaccine-linked adverse events was seen in Australian infants given flu vaccine in 2010, authorities followed this up with several major inquiries. One inquiry was overseen by an independent clinician who examined the timeliness and appropriateness of the responses to the events. A second inquiry looked at the systems in place to monitor vaccine adverse events. A third inquiry looked into the vaccine manufacturing and quality issues. These separate inquires continued for months and in one case extended for more than a year. They concluded that a manufacturing anomaly had caused the vaccine batch for that year to be more 'reactive' than usual and to provoke more adverse effects. As a result, flu vaccine made by this manufacturer was banned from use in children, while products from other manufacturers continued to be allowed to be used. The other inquiries found that vaccine event monitoring and responses could have been better, and that information sharing had been poor and could be improved.
The recommendations from these inquiries were accepted by the Australian government, which has started to implement new vaccine monitoring and oversight systems. China could learn much from the Australian response to a series of vaccine related adverse events, to improve vaccine safety monitoring and response systems and to improve transparency in the whole process.
A clear and open response on the issue is needed from the Chinese authorities to maintain confidence in the safety of vaccination programs for children. It is not enough to point out that 15 million children receive the hepatitis B vaccine each year with the vast majority showing no ill effects and that the vaccine program prevents millions of cases of severe illness and death. Given the previous food and drug quality safety scandals seen in China - and the lack of public faith in the responses from the authorities - it is not surprising that there is now a crisis of confidence in the quality of China's food and drug products. Let us hope that vaccines do not become like milk powder, with parents only having faith in imported foreign brands for their newborns.
The deaths of 17 Chinese infants reported as having have followed hepatitis B vaccination are a tragedy that needs to be be fully investigated. When the first deaths occurred, the suspicion lay with a vaccine made by Shenzhen BioKangtai, with reports that certain batches of the vaccine were linked to the deaths of newborns in several provinces who had received vaccines with the specific batch number. Matters then became confused when reports were made of deaths of infants who had received other vaccines, including one made by a company called Beijing Tiantan. In all, 17 deaths have been officially reported in relation to hepatitis B vaccine.
When the first deaths were reported, the China Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) ordered a halt to the use of the Biokangtai vaccine in China's newborn vaccination program and an investigation into the vaccine used.
After a rapid investigation of less than two weeks it has been announced that no problems have been found with the batches of Biokangtai's vaccine reportedly involved in the deaths and adverse reactions. The SFDA has also found no problems in the manufacturing, storage, transport or injection of the vaccine. Nevertheless, manufacturing permissions have been suspended for the three major manufacturers of hepatitis B vaccine, on the grounds that their facilities had not met the new GMP criteria for vaccine prodiction that came into effect on 1 January.
Post-mortem investigations into the infant deaths have also excluded the vaccine in nine cases, so far, and the other eight cases are waiting for autopsy results. Thus the hepatitis B infant vaccination campaign has quickly been given the all clear by the various authorities, and this verdict has been endorsed by the local branch of the WHO. The WHO representative rightly pointed out that the hepatitis B program was based on a good vaccine and prevented many cases of diseases and death every year. However, the announcement about the vaccine being safe was met with anger from some of the families of the children who died, and there has been disbelief on online forums about the "all clear" verdict from netizens who have little faith in monitoring of safety and quality of foods and medicines in China.
Despite the endorsement of WHO, there are still areas of doubt and unanswered questions in relation to the safety of China's hepatitis B vaccine and other child vaccine programs. First of all, if a vaccine was not responsible for the infant deaths, what was or were the real causes? With millions of newborns being vaccinated it is statistically probable that some natural infant deaths will co-incide with the time of vaccination. But the reports of 17 deaths in association with hepatitis B vaccination require in-depth investigation. Another question is whether it is possible to confidently rule out the vaccine as a possible factor in the cause of death. The investigations into the child deaths and into the vaccine quality and usage were done very quickly, raising questions about how thorough and comprehensive they were. There was also little transparancy about the process.
By comparison, when a similar series of vaccine-linked adverse events was seen in Australian infants given flu vaccine in 2010, authorities followed this up with several major inquiries. One inquiry was overseen by an independent clinician who examined the timeliness and appropriateness of the responses to the events. A second inquiry looked at the systems in place to monitor vaccine adverse events. A third inquiry looked into the vaccine manufacturing and quality issues. These separate inquires continued for months and in one case extended for more than a year. They concluded that a manufacturing anomaly had caused the vaccine batch for that year to be more 'reactive' than usual and to provoke more adverse effects. As a result, flu vaccine made by this manufacturer was banned from use in children, while products from other manufacturers continued to be allowed to be used. The other inquiries found that vaccine event monitoring and responses could have been better, and that information sharing had been poor and could be improved.
The recommendations from these inquiries were accepted by the Australian government, which has started to implement new vaccine monitoring and oversight systems. China could learn much from the Australian response to a series of vaccine related adverse events, to improve vaccine safety monitoring and response systems and to improve transparency in the whole process.
A clear and open response on the issue is needed from the Chinese authorities to maintain confidence in the safety of vaccination programs for children. It is not enough to point out that 15 million children receive the hepatitis B vaccine each year with the vast majority showing no ill effects and that the vaccine program prevents millions of cases of severe illness and death. Given the previous food and drug quality safety scandals seen in China - and the lack of public faith in the responses from the authorities - it is not surprising that there is now a crisis of confidence in the quality of China's food and drug products. Let us hope that vaccines do not become like milk powder, with parents only having faith in imported foreign brands for their newborns.
Manufacturers stop production of essential medicines after price controls
China's pharmaceutical manufacturers have stopped production of important essential medicines after price controls limited how much they could charge and profit from them, the government has conceded.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission has announced that it is now "working on a new mechanism to balance the economic interests of pharmaceuticals and the public demand for affordable and effective drugs," according to spokesman Mao Qun'an.
The move follows growing shortages of important but unprofitable drugs such as those for hyperthyroidism. In the China Daily, a report details how locally-produced anti-thyroid treatments such as methimazole (Tapazole) are no longer available for the 10 million people in China who have an overactive thyroid. Many hospitals can no longer access Chinese-made products and have to buy imported products instead.
The pricing for listed essential drugs such as Tapazole has been strictly controlled under a system introduced in 2009, but this has resulted in small profit margins for drug producers, and many of the 13 pharmaceutical companies producing the drug in China have ceased production.
Shortages of Tapazole have been noted in regional areas, but until now supply has not been a problem for major hospitals in big cities, many of which use imported drug.
The spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission said: "Under a market economy, all stakeholders need to cooperate and negotiate a balance to prevent similar problems from happening again in a bid to secure the drug supply."
The National Health and Family Planning Commission has announced that it is now "working on a new mechanism to balance the economic interests of pharmaceuticals and the public demand for affordable and effective drugs," according to spokesman Mao Qun'an.
The move follows growing shortages of important but unprofitable drugs such as those for hyperthyroidism. In the China Daily, a report details how locally-produced anti-thyroid treatments such as methimazole (Tapazole) are no longer available for the 10 million people in China who have an overactive thyroid. Many hospitals can no longer access Chinese-made products and have to buy imported products instead.
The pricing for listed essential drugs such as Tapazole has been strictly controlled under a system introduced in 2009, but this has resulted in small profit margins for drug producers, and many of the 13 pharmaceutical companies producing the drug in China have ceased production.
Shortages of Tapazole have been noted in regional areas, but until now supply has not been a problem for major hospitals in big cities, many of which use imported drug.
The spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission said: "Under a market economy, all stakeholders need to cooperate and negotiate a balance to prevent similar problems from happening again in a bid to secure the drug supply."
Diabetes linked to liver cancer: Beijing study
Diabetes is strongly linked with the
increased risk of liver cancer, especially in patients with hepatitis B
infection, researchers from Peking Union Medical College Hospital have shown.
Their study found a strong association
between diabetes and hepatocellular carcinoma regardless of the prevalence of
hepatitis B and C infection, cirrhosis, gender, and age. However, there was
also a synergistic interaction between diabetes and HBV in cancer occurrence.
“Therefore, diabetes patients with HBV infection represent a very high hepatocellular carcinoma risk
population and should be considered for hepatocellular carcinoma close surveillance program” the
researchers said in PLOS One.
Public health workers unprepared for emergencies
Public health workers in north east China
are poorly prepared for emergency situations, a study has found.
A survey of 368 public health inspectors
from 17 public health areas in Heilongjiang found that most staff believed they
had adequate skills and compensation to manage in a crisis. However the study
also found that competency and preparedness were lacking. Lack of explicit
national job requirements, overlapping responsibilities and poor collaboration
among agencies, together with poor knowledge and skills level of personnel, led
to an ambiguity of responsibility, and hindered the preparedness competency of
public health staff, according to the study in BMJ Open.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Gansu starts generalist training program to provide more family doctors
by Michael Woodhead
Authorities in Gansu province are to implement a new generalist medical training program across the province to provide family doctors to all communities. In an announcement made by the province's health department based in Lanzhou, new measures will be implemented to create a training pathway that will equip doctors with skills in areas of medicine such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics, dermatology, psychiatry, eye diease and infectious diseases and rehabilitation medicine.
The department said medical practitioners currently undergo training in a 5+3 year model of academic and clinical followed by vocational training that provides a specialist pathway. The only generalist practitioners are those who work in rural areas with only three years of clinical training. The aim of the new program is to provide generalist practitioners who have advanced skills in many areas of medicine to provide a family medicine service, the government said
Authorities in Gansu province are to implement a new generalist medical training program across the province to provide family doctors to all communities. In an announcement made by the province's health department based in Lanzhou, new measures will be implemented to create a training pathway that will equip doctors with skills in areas of medicine such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics, dermatology, psychiatry, eye diease and infectious diseases and rehabilitation medicine.
The department said medical practitioners currently undergo training in a 5+3 year model of academic and clinical followed by vocational training that provides a specialist pathway. The only generalist practitioners are those who work in rural areas with only three years of clinical training. The aim of the new program is to provide generalist practitioners who have advanced skills in many areas of medicine to provide a family medicine service, the government said
Shanghai researchers identify genetic markers for rheumatoid arthritis
Shanghai researchers have helped identify
new genetic regions involved in rheumatoid arthritis that will shed light on
medicines that could be effective in treating the disease.
Professor Xu Huji and colleagues from the
Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, worked with other groups from
around the world to identify 42 new genetic regions involved in the disease,
bringing the total known to be involved to 101.
It is believed that 65 per cent of the risk
of rheumatoid arthritis is genetic.
The research involved several thousand
Chinese rheumatoid arthritis patients and is the largest such genetic study in
the world and the first in Han Chinese.
The study, to be published in Nature and in Arthritis
and Rheumatism, has nearly doubled the number of regions of the
genome associated with the disease.
The researchers identified several genes
that are already targets of approved treatments for other diseases, including
cancer treatments. These drugs could now potentially be repurposed for
rheumatoid arthritis treatment.
They showed that existing rheumatoid
arthritis drugs only target 30 of those genes, meaning a large number of
potential new drug targets can now be investigated.
Source: University of Queensland News
Tianjin to implement autism early diagnosis program
Tianjin is to implement an autism early diagnosis program in collaboration with Australian researchers.
The program is based on a set of markers that can help diagnose the condition in children below the age of two. Dr Josephine Barbaro from La Trobe University has developed a new screening tool that uses recognised early markers of autism spectrum disorder to identify the condition.
"We designed a program called the social attention and communication surveillence study and we trained maternal and child health nurses to monitor these very early markers in very young children, from one to two years of age."
The government of Tianjin has agreed to use the program over the next seven years for every child born in the city.
"These sample sizes that we can have for research are huge so it's fantastic for research," Dr Barbaro said, adding that there are about 100,000 babies born every year.
"It's also fantastic... for family so that we can actually work together with families and try and identify children early. And so we can begin early intervention."
Source: ABC Asia Pacific
The program is based on a set of markers that can help diagnose the condition in children below the age of two. Dr Josephine Barbaro from La Trobe University has developed a new screening tool that uses recognised early markers of autism spectrum disorder to identify the condition.
"We designed a program called the social attention and communication surveillence study and we trained maternal and child health nurses to monitor these very early markers in very young children, from one to two years of age."
The government of Tianjin has agreed to use the program over the next seven years for every child born in the city.
"These sample sizes that we can have for research are huge so it's fantastic for research," Dr Barbaro said, adding that there are about 100,000 babies born every year.
"It's also fantastic... for family so that we can actually work together with families and try and identify children early. And so we can begin early intervention."
Source: ABC Asia Pacific
Monday, 6 January 2014
Wuhan pollution causing cancer in children, says oncologist
by Michael Woodhead
The increasingly severe pollution and smog in Wuhan is having "terrible consequences" for the health of local people, a cancer specialist has to the Wuhan political consultative conference.
Dr Liu Li of the Xiehe Hospital Cancer Centre told the Wuhan conference that cancer rates in the city had increased in the last 10 years and tumours were now being seen at a much younger age.
Dr Liu said the number of beds at the hospitals cancer centre has doubled to more than 1000 in the last decade, but they were still at 100% occupancy. He said the incidence and mortality of cancer in Wuhan were without precedent, and it was shocking to see infants presenting with tumours.
To see an infant needing chemotherapy can only make you cry" he told the conference.
Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer we see and the contributory factors are complex, but air pollutio is no doubt theimportant 'assasin'," he said.
According to the Hubei Daily, Dr Liu called on environmental protection department to take urgent action to address the smog problem. One example is the common practice of burning rubbish, he said, which causes large amounts of ash and hazardous particles to be released into the air.
"Air pollution is now a critical threat to population health in Wuhan, he said.
The increasingly severe pollution and smog in Wuhan is having "terrible consequences" for the health of local people, a cancer specialist has to the Wuhan political consultative conference.
Dr Liu Li of the Xiehe Hospital Cancer Centre told the Wuhan conference that cancer rates in the city had increased in the last 10 years and tumours were now being seen at a much younger age.
Dr Liu said the number of beds at the hospitals cancer centre has doubled to more than 1000 in the last decade, but they were still at 100% occupancy. He said the incidence and mortality of cancer in Wuhan were without precedent, and it was shocking to see infants presenting with tumours.
To see an infant needing chemotherapy can only make you cry" he told the conference.
Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer we see and the contributory factors are complex, but air pollutio is no doubt theimportant 'assasin'," he said.
According to the Hubei Daily, Dr Liu called on environmental protection department to take urgent action to address the smog problem. One example is the common practice of burning rubbish, he said, which causes large amounts of ash and hazardous particles to be released into the air.
"Air pollution is now a critical threat to population health in Wuhan, he said.
Jealous Beijing female doctor arrested for bomb scare to prevent boyfriend's Australian holiday
by Michael Woodhead
A female doctor who is Haidian district's director of disease prevention has been arrested for causing a bomb scare at Beijing airport in an attempt to stop her boyfriend from travelling to Australia with other women.
The doctor named as Yang Liu became jealous of her boyfriend of two years as he was a well known tour guide and she suspected he was having affairs with women in the tour groups he accompanied on trips away from Beijing.
According to a report in the China Times, in late September of 2013 Dr Yang became suspicious when her boyfriend told her he was leading a group to Australia which included several women. She drew up a plan to stop his trip, by phoning in a fake bomb scare message to Beijing airport. She played a recorded message announcing a bomb was on the Beijing to Shanghai plane that her boyfriend was due to be travelling on.
This led to a major security operation at the airport, where her boyfriend was due to take a flight to Australia via Shanghai.
After security forces at the airport were mobilised, the bomb scare was found to be a false alarm.
One month on, the Public Security Bureau had tracked down Dr Yang and arrested her. This week her case was heard at the Beijing Fangshan district court, where her trial on anti-terrorism charges will take place. Prosecutors allege her actions caused huge disruption at the airport and significant economic losses.
Dr Yang is said to have graduated in 2009 and had been known as a hard working and much respected clinician at the Haidian district health department.
A female doctor who is Haidian district's director of disease prevention has been arrested for causing a bomb scare at Beijing airport in an attempt to stop her boyfriend from travelling to Australia with other women.
The doctor named as Yang Liu became jealous of her boyfriend of two years as he was a well known tour guide and she suspected he was having affairs with women in the tour groups he accompanied on trips away from Beijing.
According to a report in the China Times, in late September of 2013 Dr Yang became suspicious when her boyfriend told her he was leading a group to Australia which included several women. She drew up a plan to stop his trip, by phoning in a fake bomb scare message to Beijing airport. She played a recorded message announcing a bomb was on the Beijing to Shanghai plane that her boyfriend was due to be travelling on.
This led to a major security operation at the airport, where her boyfriend was due to take a flight to Australia via Shanghai.
After security forces at the airport were mobilised, the bomb scare was found to be a false alarm.
One month on, the Public Security Bureau had tracked down Dr Yang and arrested her. This week her case was heard at the Beijing Fangshan district court, where her trial on anti-terrorism charges will take place. Prosecutors allege her actions caused huge disruption at the airport and significant economic losses.
Dr Yang is said to have graduated in 2009 and had been known as a hard working and much respected clinician at the Haidian district health department.
Shandong's "Doctor QQ" dispenses online remedies for the housebound
In Shandong's Jinan city, Dr Li Lihua is encouraging his housebound patients to consult him first on QQ before trying to go to hospital. In October 2013, Dr Li set up his own doctor-patient commnity on the social media site QQ and now has 60 patients on his 'list'.
He encourages them to consult with him online for minor ailments and he says the QQ service offers them attention and confidentiality. The doctor in charge of the Shanxi Lu health station says this way he can help people avoid going to hospital and if they need to go to the hospital he can refer them to the most appropriate department and doctor.
One example was a web friend who asked about toothache - Dr Li tells him which antibiotic and anti-inflammatory medications to take, to avoid hot and spicy foods and to drink plenty of fluid.
According to the Qilu Evening News, Dr Li says this helps him to keep in contact with patients who otherwise would not get to see a doctor.
He encourages them to consult with him online for minor ailments and he says the QQ service offers them attention and confidentiality. The doctor in charge of the Shanxi Lu health station says this way he can help people avoid going to hospital and if they need to go to the hospital he can refer them to the most appropriate department and doctor.
One example was a web friend who asked about toothache - Dr Li tells him which antibiotic and anti-inflammatory medications to take, to avoid hot and spicy foods and to drink plenty of fluid.
According to the Qilu Evening News, Dr Li says this helps him to keep in contact with patients who otherwise would not get to see a doctor.
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Suzhou hospitals get real time online data monitoring for insurance and medication claims
The Suzhou social insurance fund has implemented an online real time data handling system for 43 hospitals that allows medical insurance claims and medication dispensing to be verified to enhance quality assurance and prevent fraud. The new system replaced the old manual input of claims data last year, and allows the health fund to collate medical insurance claims data alongside medication use and patient and hospital details. The system allows the social insurance centre managers to identify abnormal prescribing patterns and to give feedback directly to the hospital and the clinicians. For instance, in the first three months of operation data analysis has revealed that some male patients have been given medications for female medical problems and others have been given drugs for a different indication to the one for which they were being treated. The new system marks such anomalies with a red flag and gives feedback to the prescriber and to the hospital.
Source: Suzhou Daily
Source: Suzhou Daily
Relatives and netizens sceptical of hepatitis B vaccine verdict
The father of one of the infants who died after receiving hepatitis B vaccine has rejected the findings of an official investigation that found no link between vaccine and the deaths.
According to Radio Free Asia, Yang Wenlong of Shanxi said the official account clearing the vaccine of any role in the babies' deaths was groundless.
"They are talking absolute rubbish, and no one in China will believe it unless they are idiots," Yang said.
"I for one don't believe their results."
Mr Yang said the official verdict had been criticized by Chinese netizens on social media sites such as QQ. Many citizens were sceptical of the government following a series of product safety and public health scandals in recent years."I think they are afraid of affecting people's uptake of the vaccine."
"But I think that what they've done here will have the opposite effect to the one they intended."
According to Radio Free Asia, Yang Wenlong of Shanxi said the official account clearing the vaccine of any role in the babies' deaths was groundless.
"They are talking absolute rubbish, and no one in China will believe it unless they are idiots," Yang said.
"I for one don't believe their results."
Mr Yang said the official verdict had been criticized by Chinese netizens on social media sites such as QQ. Many citizens were sceptical of the government following a series of product safety and public health scandals in recent years."I think they are afraid of affecting people's uptake of the vaccine."
"But I think that what they've done here will have the opposite effect to the one they intended."
Medical news from China's media
In Shanghai, an ENT specialist has rejected accusations from a former student of of stealing Australian cochlear implant technology, saying the allegations are driven by a grudge held by a colleague after he was refused preferential treatment. Professor Wang Zhengmin, a specialist at Fudan University
Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital has been accused by Dr Wang Yucheng of copying foreign technology to register patents for an artificial cochlea and exaggerating his number of theses.
According to the Shanghai Daily, Professor Wang Zhengmin rejected the accusations, saying they were driven by hatred from a former colleague who was rejected after requests for financial help and preferential treatment were rejected .
Also in the Shanghai Daily,the top complaints from patients relating to hospitals include dirty toilets and the high costs of treatment, according to a survey of local hospitals. Other common complaints included poor food and hygiene problems left many hospitalized patients dissatisfied.
The survey of 6,500 patients by Shanghai Medical Ethos Association, also found that lack of access to a doctor and limited health resources were major reasons for dissatisfaction. The numbers of doctors shared by 10,000 residents in Shanghai halved in the last 20 years due to an increase in population.
In the China Daily, medical insurance in Beijing has been extended to cover higher costs for severe and chronic diseases for the unemployed.
Meanwhile in Shanghai, an 86-year old man has been diagnosed with avian influenza A(H7N9), the 145th human case reported from the mainland.
According to the Shanghai Daily, Professor Wang Zhengmin rejected the accusations, saying they were driven by hatred from a former colleague who was rejected after requests for financial help and preferential treatment were rejected .
Also in the Shanghai Daily,the top complaints from patients relating to hospitals include dirty toilets and the high costs of treatment, according to a survey of local hospitals. Other common complaints included poor food and hygiene problems left many hospitalized patients dissatisfied.
The survey of 6,500 patients by Shanghai Medical Ethos Association, also found that lack of access to a doctor and limited health resources were major reasons for dissatisfaction. The numbers of doctors shared by 10,000 residents in Shanghai halved in the last 20 years due to an increase in population.
In the China Daily, medical insurance in Beijing has been extended to cover higher costs for severe and chronic diseases for the unemployed.
Meanwhile in Shanghai, an 86-year old man has been diagnosed with avian influenza A(H7N9), the 145th human case reported from the mainland.
Saturday, 4 January 2014
No news today - I'm sick! Will leave you with this ... Govt vaccine investigation outcome 'trustworthy' - Global Times http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/835673.shtml
Friday, 3 January 2014
Beijing hospitals switch to new yellow receipts: more info, less counterfeiting
by Michael Woodhead
Beijing hospitals have switched to a new receipt system that provides more individualised information on billing and also offers more protection against counterfeiting.
According to a report in the Beijing Daily, the hospital have abandoned the old blue receipts that has a tear off slip, and now offer new yellow receipts that have more space for individualised billing information. The new receipts give separate and more detailed information on medical registration fees, medication fees and medical test and treatment fees. The new receipts also have a 10-digit barcode to make them more difficult to counterfeit, and they also include personal ID card details to deter switching of receipts. The billing system has also been likened to the tax department database, so users can go online to check that the receipts are genuine.
Beijing hospitals have switched to a new receipt system that provides more individualised information on billing and also offers more protection against counterfeiting.
According to a report in the Beijing Daily, the hospital have abandoned the old blue receipts that has a tear off slip, and now offer new yellow receipts that have more space for individualised billing information. The new receipts give separate and more detailed information on medical registration fees, medication fees and medical test and treatment fees. The new receipts also have a 10-digit barcode to make them more difficult to counterfeit, and they also include personal ID card details to deter switching of receipts. The billing system has also been likened to the tax department database, so users can go online to check that the receipts are genuine.
China's medical experts warn about marketing of regular CT scan check-ups
by Michael Woodhead
Medical experts have warned Chinese consumers to reject the marketing hype for the latest craze of having six monthly health check-ups using PET-CT scanners.
Many medical clinics are "jumping on the bandwagon" and using advertising to promote the inappropriate and dangerous use of high end scanners, say radiotherapy specialists at leading hospitals.
Adverts urge consumers to have six monthly CT scans, claiming the advanced technology will detect fast-growing tumours that would escape detection by other health checks or from symptoms alone, accordingto a report in the People's Daily.
However, Dr Lin Hongwei, a cancer specialist at Beijing's Qinhua University Changgeng Hospital said the promotion of PET-CT scan was inappropriate and potentially harmful. He said PET-CT scans delivered a high dose of radiation and should only be used in monitoring existing tumours and for detetion of certain difficult tumours. There was no role for CT scanning in screening of the general population, and anyusch ue was in contravention of current guidelines, he warned.
"The use of expensive PET-CT scans for regular check ups is inappropriate, it is a waste of resources and also can do harm to the patient," he said.
Medical experts have warned Chinese consumers to reject the marketing hype for the latest craze of having six monthly health check-ups using PET-CT scanners.
Many medical clinics are "jumping on the bandwagon" and using advertising to promote the inappropriate and dangerous use of high end scanners, say radiotherapy specialists at leading hospitals.
Adverts urge consumers to have six monthly CT scans, claiming the advanced technology will detect fast-growing tumours that would escape detection by other health checks or from symptoms alone, accordingto a report in the People's Daily.
However, Dr Lin Hongwei, a cancer specialist at Beijing's Qinhua University Changgeng Hospital said the promotion of PET-CT scan was inappropriate and potentially harmful. He said PET-CT scans delivered a high dose of radiation and should only be used in monitoring existing tumours and for detetion of certain difficult tumours. There was no role for CT scanning in screening of the general population, and anyusch ue was in contravention of current guidelines, he warned.
"The use of expensive PET-CT scans for regular check ups is inappropriate, it is a waste of resources and also can do harm to the patient," he said.
Doctors have worse health than rest of population, CMA survey finds
A survey by the Chinese Medical Association has found that half of doctors have hypertension and a quarter have cardiovascular disease.
The findings of the survey of 4032 doctors also show that the overall rate of health problems among medical practitioners over 40 is twice that of the general population.
The results have been released to publicise a new 'Doctor's Health Fund' that will provide medical insurance coverage specifically for doctors. The CMA says the plan is needed because doctors are more prone to disease through exhaustion and stress as they work long hours in high pressure environment. The plan is aimed to provide care and recupration especially for doctors working at the basic level hospitals and in rural areas, the CMA says.
The findings of the survey of 4032 doctors also show that the overall rate of health problems among medical practitioners over 40 is twice that of the general population.
The results have been released to publicise a new 'Doctor's Health Fund' that will provide medical insurance coverage specifically for doctors. The CMA says the plan is needed because doctors are more prone to disease through exhaustion and stress as they work long hours in high pressure environment. The plan is aimed to provide care and recupration especially for doctors working at the basic level hospitals and in rural areas, the CMA says.
China's top 3 hepatitis B vaccine makers ordered to stop production because of GMP failings
by Michael Woodhead
China's three major manufacturers of hepatitis B vaccine have been ordered to suspend production because they have failed to meet new stringent GMP criteria that came into effect in 1 January.
The order from the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) applies to Shanzhen Biokangtai, whose hepatitis B vaccine has been linked to a string of deaths among newborns in recent weeks. It also applies to Dalian Hanxin and Tiantan Biologicals.
According to a report from Xinhua, the vaccine manufacturers knew in advance that they had to meet the new GMP criteria by 1 January but failed to do so. The report says the new GMP criteria apply to all aseptic manufacturing plants, of which there are 1319 in China. It says two thirds have already met the new GMP requirements and others are working towards them. However, the three hepatitis B vaccine manufatcurers have not met the criteria and have been told that any further products produced from 1 January will not be accepted for use in China.
The Xinhua report notes that the three manufacturers account for about 80% of hepatitis B vaccine producetion in China. other manufacturers such as Hualan and Huabei have achieved GMP licencing but produce only about 10% of the vaccine supplies.
The SFDA says new GMP criteria apply to all manufacturers, and they estimate that there are GMP-compliant manufacturers for all 171 essential medicines. Mannufacturers who have not yet met the criteria have stockplied supplies of essential medicines, Xinhua notes.
The SFDA empahises that the move is only a temporary suspension of manufacturing and it is not ordering the manufacturers to shut down the production facilities. Production may be resumed once the manufacturers show they are meeting GMP requirement, the SFDA says.
China's three major manufacturers of hepatitis B vaccine have been ordered to suspend production because they have failed to meet new stringent GMP criteria that came into effect in 1 January.
The order from the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) applies to Shanzhen Biokangtai, whose hepatitis B vaccine has been linked to a string of deaths among newborns in recent weeks. It also applies to Dalian Hanxin and Tiantan Biologicals.
According to a report from Xinhua, the vaccine manufacturers knew in advance that they had to meet the new GMP criteria by 1 January but failed to do so. The report says the new GMP criteria apply to all aseptic manufacturing plants, of which there are 1319 in China. It says two thirds have already met the new GMP requirements and others are working towards them. However, the three hepatitis B vaccine manufatcurers have not met the criteria and have been told that any further products produced from 1 January will not be accepted for use in China.
The Xinhua report notes that the three manufacturers account for about 80% of hepatitis B vaccine producetion in China. other manufacturers such as Hualan and Huabei have achieved GMP licencing but produce only about 10% of the vaccine supplies.
The SFDA says new GMP criteria apply to all manufacturers, and they estimate that there are GMP-compliant manufacturers for all 171 essential medicines. Mannufacturers who have not yet met the criteria have stockplied supplies of essential medicines, Xinhua notes.
The SFDA empahises that the move is only a temporary suspension of manufacturing and it is not ordering the manufacturers to shut down the production facilities. Production may be resumed once the manufacturers show they are meeting GMP requirement, the SFDA says.
Medical news in China's media
HIV is one of several conditions newly listed as occupational diseases for police and medical workers, meaning that those who develop the illness will be eligible for work-related injury
insurance reimbursement.
Other new conditions covered are leukasmus, blast exposure
hearing damage, and ocular burns (such as to the cornea, lens of the eye
or retina) caused by laser light and frostbite, according to Women of China.
The city of Lanzhou in Gansu has adopted tough new anti-smoking measures in public places. New legislation specifies "non-smoking" indoor areas, including medical institutions, schools, government office buildings, public dining places, and public transport carriers. Smokers, face fines from 50 to 200 yuan, according to the Peoples Daily.
Police in Henan broke up a fake medicine production ring that placed fake-drug ads on the radio and the internet and used bogus medical experts to talk with patients.According to CRI the fake drug operation had earned the fraudsters 300 million yuan
And in the China Daily, psychiatrists are reported to be looking at links between China's terrible smog problems and mental health. Clinicians say studies are needed on the negative impact of smoggy days on anxiety and depression due to lack of sunlight and production of the hormone melatonin.
The city of Lanzhou in Gansu has adopted tough new anti-smoking measures in public places. New legislation specifies "non-smoking" indoor areas, including medical institutions, schools, government office buildings, public dining places, and public transport carriers. Smokers, face fines from 50 to 200 yuan, according to the Peoples Daily.
Police in Henan broke up a fake medicine production ring that placed fake-drug ads on the radio and the internet and used bogus medical experts to talk with patients.According to CRI the fake drug operation had earned the fraudsters 300 million yuan
And in the China Daily, psychiatrists are reported to be looking at links between China's terrible smog problems and mental health. Clinicians say studies are needed on the negative impact of smoggy days on anxiety and depression due to lack of sunlight and production of the hormone melatonin.
Thursday, 2 January 2014
Doctors warn of oestrogen in meat as Henan girl develops puberty at 4 years of age
Doctors in Henan says the precocious puberty reported in a 4-year-old girl may have been caused by her mother's use of oestrogen-like drugs while breatfeeding or by her intake of foods such as chicken that were high in added hormones.
The girl from Pingdangshan is reported to have developed breasts and started menstruating at the age of four. She is now undergoing treatment at the local hospital but her family say they cannot afford the 2000 RMB cost of monthly injections that she will need until the age of 12 to counter the condition, according to a report from Xinhua.
The girl comes from a poor farming family in the mountainous and deprived Ruzhou country. Her parents say the puberty effects first started to appear when she was two years old. Her family took her to the local hospital but it was only a very basic clinic and the doctor there did not have the expertise to examine or diagnose a hormonal condition in a small child. She was only diagnosed properly when they took her too the city of Zhengzhou. Even at that early age, doctors said her skeleton resembled one of an 8 or 9 year old. The Zhengzhou hospital clinicians worked out a long term treatment plan for the young girl who was already showing signs of breast development and menstruation. However, her family struggled to find the 30,000 RMB needed to pay for monitoring tests and hormonal treatment.
A doctor involved in the case siad the girl was showing body changes at 3-4 years of age that would normally only start at 8-9 years of age at the very earliest. He feared that f the girl did not get proper inhibitory treatment she would suffer physiological damage and show premature ageing.
As to the cause of the condition, he said it appeared to be due to external factors rather than an inherited or innate disease. he speculated that the premature puberty might have been caused by early exposure of the girl to high levels of sex hormones such as oestrogen. This might have occurred as she was breast fed and her mother had used medicines that contained the hormone. In addition, the precocious puberty may also have been made more likely due to hormones in the food she and her mother consumed.
"We advise families that food such as chicken, beef, soya milk and egg white can all contain high levels of oestrogen and should be eaten in only small amounts by daughters in particular."
Beijing police bust fake drug, fake hospital and fake doctor gang
Authorities in Beijing have busted a Hubei gang that created a fake hospital and posed as doctors to sell counterfeit medicines.
Police have arrested five people and seized 6 million RMB in takings from an operation that sold fake drugs online from a website that purported to represent a fictitious diabetes hospital operated by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
According to a report in the Peoples Daily, authorities were tipped off by a member of the public who spent 700 RMB on diabetes medications on the advice of 'doctors' from the Beijing Diabetes Hospital, which gave an address in the Miyun district of the city. The medications were advertised as being effective for diabetes and offered a money back guarantee if not effective. When the complainant found the medicines were useless he sought a refund but was refused, and he was unable to trace the 'hospital'.
When notified, the PSB assigned its food and drug investigation unit to the matter, and a painstaking two month investigation began, involving enquiries in locations across the country including Shenhzhen and Chengdu. The investigation eventually tracked the offenders down to the Shijingshan district of Beijing, and five suspects were apprehended.
The suspects are all from Hubei, from where it appears they obtained the raw materials. They then prepared the fake pills in Beijing and set up a bogus hospital website to sell them across China.
Since it was set up in 2011, the PSB food and drug investigation unit has smashed 1400 fake drug operations and recovered more than 600 million RMB in illegal earnings from counterfeit and fake drugs.
Anhui city offers 'no commission' medicines to locals
The city of Wuhu in Anhui says its two year experiment in offering cost-price medications through hospitals has been a great success in making medical treatment affordable and eliminating kickbacks that plagued the former commission system. The city says its residents have saved over 200 million renminbi under the new system that stops hospitals from charging markups on medicines. The scheme was started two years ago on a limited range of medications and is now to be extended to high costs areas such as cardiac and arthritis medicines and sedatives.
According to the Wuhu News, the 'zero commission' scheme has eliminated the 'grey market' that existed between pharmaceutical wholesalers and hospitals. Under the new system, suppliers must tender for contracts that are open and guarantee to supply medicines at a fixed price for a one year period. Savings are passed on to the public. The authorities say their scheme has switched from one in which hospitals earn money from drugs to one in which they relieve the burden of the public. One of the other benefits of the scheme is that is has uncoupled prescribing from financial incentives, and thus promoted more rational treatment, the local health department says.
According to the Wuhu News, the 'zero commission' scheme has eliminated the 'grey market' that existed between pharmaceutical wholesalers and hospitals. Under the new system, suppliers must tender for contracts that are open and guarantee to supply medicines at a fixed price for a one year period. Savings are passed on to the public. The authorities say their scheme has switched from one in which hospitals earn money from drugs to one in which they relieve the burden of the public. One of the other benefits of the scheme is that is has uncoupled prescribing from financial incentives, and thus promoted more rational treatment, the local health department says.
Urgent cure needed for China's ailing health system
In Prospect magazine, Beijing-based journalist Yuan Ren offers some thoughts on why China's medical system is in urgent need of reform. She points out that the healthcare system is having to deal with a huge increase in demand (because of increased but inadequate insurance cover) and higher expectations while at the same time grappling with lack of trust from patients. The health system is struggling with corruption, in part because incomes are linked to sales of drugs to patients. She says a "modern, efficient and sustainable model" is needed - but who is to say what that is?
Medical news from China's media
In the China Daily, womens' hospitals says they are being inundated with inquiries from women about having a second child following the amendment to the family planning policy in early November. One hospital, the Women's Hospital of Zhejiang University's School of Medicine has opened a consultation clinic for women considering a second child.
Xinhua reports that two more babies have died after receiving hepatitis B vaccinations, this time in Shandong province. However, the report does not say which brand of vaccine the cases are related to, even though the Shenzhen Bio Kangtai vaccine has been withdrawn.
According to the provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention they have also received a report of a baby that died in October after a hepatitis B vaccination.
At least twelve infants are reported to have died in China after receiving vaccines against Hepatitis B.
The People's Daily has a report on gay college students being targeted for HIV prevention measures, as the number of cases in young gay men in China is increasing dramatically. The article says that in
Guangzhou there have been 117 cases of HIV in 48 colleges or universities, according to the Guangzhou Disease Prevention and Control Center. Ninety percent were infected via homosexual behavior, with high risk sexual activities being common. Students are being targeted for safe sex behaviour campaigns and also for HIV testing.
CRI reports that a tourist from mainland China has brought H7N9 influenza into Taiwan.
Disease control authorities said an 86-year old tourist from Jiangsu was confirmed with H7N9 avian influenza. The man showed first symptoms on December 19 and has been hospitalized since Dec 24.
This is Taiwan's second case of H7N9, the first imported case occurred in April this year.
Xinhua reports that two more babies have died after receiving hepatitis B vaccinations, this time in Shandong province. However, the report does not say which brand of vaccine the cases are related to, even though the Shenzhen Bio Kangtai vaccine has been withdrawn.
According to the provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention they have also received a report of a baby that died in October after a hepatitis B vaccination.
At least twelve infants are reported to have died in China after receiving vaccines against Hepatitis B.
The People's Daily has a report on gay college students being targeted for HIV prevention measures, as the number of cases in young gay men in China is increasing dramatically. The article says that in
Guangzhou there have been 117 cases of HIV in 48 colleges or universities, according to the Guangzhou Disease Prevention and Control Center. Ninety percent were infected via homosexual behavior, with high risk sexual activities being common. Students are being targeted for safe sex behaviour campaigns and also for HIV testing.
CRI reports that a tourist from mainland China has brought H7N9 influenza into Taiwan.
Disease control authorities said an 86-year old tourist from Jiangsu was confirmed with H7N9 avian influenza. The man showed first symptoms on December 19 and has been hospitalized since Dec 24.
This is Taiwan's second case of H7N9, the first imported case occurred in April this year.
Tiantan hepatitis B vaccine maker bosses resign
The makers of one of China's hepatitis B vaccines has seen several of its top executives resign in the wake of the recent spate of deaths of babies who received hepatitis vaccinations. However, the resignations are from the Tiantan Biological company, whose vaccine has been linked to few if any of the recent reports of deaths of newborns after receiving hepatitis B vaccine. The 12 deaths reported so far have mostly been linked to the rival Shenzehn Bio-Kangtai vaccine.
Caixin reports that several board members of Tiantan have offered their resignations, apparebtly becaus the recent investigations into manufacturing processes at vaccine makers have exposed sub-standard practices, especially in relation to meeting GMP requirements. The board members of Tiantan include the financial manager and auditors. The lack of GMP certification meant the company was unable to expand its production and thus has been unable to meet the shortfall created by the ban on use of BioKangtai vaccine, which accounted for about a quarter of the market.
Caixin reports that several board members of Tiantan have offered their resignations, apparebtly becaus the recent investigations into manufacturing processes at vaccine makers have exposed sub-standard practices, especially in relation to meeting GMP requirements. The board members of Tiantan include the financial manager and auditors. The lack of GMP certification meant the company was unable to expand its production and thus has been unable to meet the shortfall created by the ban on use of BioKangtai vaccine, which accounted for about a quarter of the market.
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Telescreening reveals high rate of eye disease in Chinese people with type 2 diabetes
A telescreening programme in Shenyanhg has shown there is a high prevalence of fundus pathology among patients with type 2
diabetes, and in most of the cases, this was newly
detected.
In a study involving 528 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus from Fengyutaun in Shenyang, researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang used telescreening to look for signs of any diabetic retinopathy, signs of glaucoma and signs of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The main ocular fundus pathologies were diabetic retinopathy, (14%), of which 87% cases were newly detected, AMD was detected in 11% of patients and glaucoma in 12%. The risk factors for fundus pathology were long duration of diabetes, higher fasting plasma glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels.
"Community screening for fundus pathology among patients with a long duration of type 2 diabetes and high fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c levels using a telescreening model will provide an effective strategy for the prevention and treatment of fundus pathology," the study authors concluded.
Read the full study at: BMJ Open
In a study involving 528 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus from Fengyutaun in Shenyang, researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang used telescreening to look for signs of any diabetic retinopathy, signs of glaucoma and signs of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The main ocular fundus pathologies were diabetic retinopathy, (14%), of which 87% cases were newly detected, AMD was detected in 11% of patients and glaucoma in 12%. The risk factors for fundus pathology were long duration of diabetes, higher fasting plasma glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels.
"Community screening for fundus pathology among patients with a long duration of type 2 diabetes and high fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c levels using a telescreening model will provide an effective strategy for the prevention and treatment of fundus pathology," the study authors concluded.
Read the full study at: BMJ Open
Most Chinese are open minded about euthanasia
by Wang Hongyi
A recent survey shows that more than two-thirds of Chinese have an open and tolerant attitude toward euthanasia, which has long been debated — and banned — in the country.
According to the survey, conducted by the public opinion research center at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, about 70 percent of the more than 3,400 polled residents from 34 cities said they do not object to euthanasia or can accept the idea.
The survey, released last week, was conducted through a computer-assisted telephone interview.
"Euthanasia has been widely discussed around the world," said Zhong Yang, the research center's director. "In China, people's attitudes toward death have changed with the times, and more people hope to die painlessly."
The topic of death has long been taboo in China.
A recent survey shows that more than two-thirds of Chinese have an open and tolerant attitude toward euthanasia, which has long been debated — and banned — in the country.
According to the survey, conducted by the public opinion research center at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, about 70 percent of the more than 3,400 polled residents from 34 cities said they do not object to euthanasia or can accept the idea.
The survey, released last week, was conducted through a computer-assisted telephone interview.
"Euthanasia has been widely discussed around the world," said Zhong Yang, the research center's director. "In China, people's attitudes toward death have changed with the times, and more people hope to die painlessly."
The topic of death has long been taboo in China.
29 Shanghai hospitals busted for allowing smoking
Twenty-nine local hospitals were blacklisted for
failing to control smoking on the premises after undercover checks by
authorities on some 400 medical facilities. But the hospitals said
without any legal protection they can’t stop people from smoking.
Those blacklisted include three well-known maternity hospitals, one leading pediatric hospital and some big hospitals. The list was put up on the official microblog of local health authority and the city government yesterday.
The authorities faulted the hospitals for lack of no-smoking signs, especially on the stairs, elevators, corridors and restrooms, and a lack of staff to deal with people smoking on the premises.
Patients’ families were found smoking outside surgery rooms and some hospitals had staff smoking inside their offices. Designated smoking areas were also an area of concern.
Some hospitals had indoor smoking areas while others allowed people to smoke outdoors but were too close to people.
Those blacklisted include three well-known maternity hospitals, one leading pediatric hospital and some big hospitals. The list was put up on the official microblog of local health authority and the city government yesterday.
The authorities faulted the hospitals for lack of no-smoking signs, especially on the stairs, elevators, corridors and restrooms, and a lack of staff to deal with people smoking on the premises.
Patients’ families were found smoking outside surgery rooms and some hospitals had staff smoking inside their offices. Designated smoking areas were also an area of concern.
Some hospitals had indoor smoking areas while others allowed people to smoke outdoors but were too close to people.
Beijing maternity hospitals add more beds in anticipation of two child families
The city of Beijing has announced that it will add more maternity beds to get ready for its new birth policy, the municipal health bureau reported on Dec 29.
That new policy allows couples to have two children, and is expected to lead to an increasing in the number of expectant mothers in the near future, so, the city is looking for ways to deal with a possible baby boom, in 2014.
The bureau explained that the city has 127 obstetrics hospitals or institutions with 4,466 beds in all, 13 top ones, with 135 beds, and 73 second-tier, with 2,853 beds. The top-level hospitals with better medical services are always crowded, while the rest are less so.
In addition to more maternity beds, there will be more emergency equipment in hospitals, and various types of training to improve emergency-room responses and keep risks at a minimum.
Source: Beijing Daily
That new policy allows couples to have two children, and is expected to lead to an increasing in the number of expectant mothers in the near future, so, the city is looking for ways to deal with a possible baby boom, in 2014.
The bureau explained that the city has 127 obstetrics hospitals or institutions with 4,466 beds in all, 13 top ones, with 135 beds, and 73 second-tier, with 2,853 beds. The top-level hospitals with better medical services are always crowded, while the rest are less so.
In addition to more maternity beds, there will be more emergency equipment in hospitals, and various types of training to improve emergency-room responses and keep risks at a minimum.
Source: Beijing Daily
China halts imports of Pfizer's Diflucan for HIV due to paperwork problems
China suspended imports of U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc's AIDS-related drug fluconazole (Diflucan) on Tuesday, citing a problem with late paperwork, the country's food and drug watchdog said in a statement on its website.
Pfizer, the largest drugmaker in the United States, contravened Chinese law when one of its France-based factories failed to submit a supplementary application on time, the China Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in the statement.
With the country's healthcare spending forecast to nearly triple to $1 trillion by 2020 from $357 billion in 2011, according to consulting firm McKinsey, China is a magnet for makers of medicines and medical equipment.
Pfizer has taken steps to resolve the issue and is working with China's FDA to ensure its products comply with Chinese law, it said in a statement on its Chinese-language website. The issue is not linked to quality or safety, it added.
Some analysts said the incident looked like a paperwork "glitch" and should be short-lived.
"It should not impact too much Pfizer's business in China and I am sure the imports will be resumed once the procedure is complete," said Simon Li, Shanghai-based general manager at Kantar Health China.
China has been cracking down this year on the healthcare sector, with investigations ranging from allegations of corporate bribery to how drugs are priced, as well as drives to increase quality and safety levels across the sector.
Diflucan, which treats fungal infections linked to AIDS, had worldwide sales of $259 million in 2012, according to Pfizer's latest annual financial statement, a small fraction of the firm's $59 billion revenue that year. Pfizer has more than 9,000 employees in China and operates in more than 250 Chinese cities.
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