Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    SHENZHEN aims to establish five to eight new Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospitals by 2020, the city’s health commission said yesterday.

    Several clinics are being planned for Bao’an, Futian and Luohu districts, according to the commission.

    The clinics will get the same preferential policies regarding drug pricing and hiring employees as other health care providers under a program that health authorities hope will bring quality hospitals and doctors to the city.

    The clinics would have TCM doctors recognized by the nation, the province or the city practicing there. Doctors can run the clinics themselves or hire a management firm, according to the health commission.

    The commission said the clinics need to cover an area of at least 1,000 square meters and have at least 10 consulting rooms. They should have their own pharmacy and practice at least 10 TCM techniques, such as acupuncture.

    TCM has developed over the past 2,000 years, but few TCM doctors are well recognized.

    “Insiders like me know that some TCM doctors are not that good although they’ve won a certain level of recognition by passing some tests,” said Huang Huajun, a TCM doctor who runs an acupuncture clinic in Nanshan District. “It is good that the government wants to support the TCM sector, but I really doubt this is an effective way of doing it.”

    Others felt the more options, the better.

    “I think it is great. More choices with respected professionals always give us great confidence,” said Brazilian Romario Severino. “More and more Westerners see the benefits of TCM and this is great news to the expat community.”

    The city government encourages private investors to open TCM clinics and will offer incentives, including insurance coverage and support for human resources.

    The same TCM practitioner is allowed to work at different clinics or hospitals, and TCM practitioners from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign countries are encouraged to work at such clinics.

    “This measure could have a stimulating effect on the local economy and the health care sector, which is good,” said Greg Isaacson, an American researcher with a property agency in Shenzhen.

    Medical insurance will be accepted at the clinics.