Medicine in China

In China, most hospitals are run by the government. Physicians were previously quasi-government employees and with little freedom in the choice of the hospital to work with. In addition, decades of planned economic policy discouraged physicians from opening their own clinics, and the practice of medicine was generally non-private.

While there are private clinics in China, many of the owners of those clinics do not have a western medical education. Most of these private practitioners practice traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). They learned a lineage-based medical system from their parents (mostly from their fathers), took imperial exams to enter medical university pre-PRC, or study at TCM universities in modern China.

Physicians now are encouraged to open private clinics or hospitals, and those who have been practicing medicine for five years after they received national physician licenses can open their own clinics.

The Chinese Medical Association is the largest and oldest non-governmental medical organization in China. It was established by a group of medical professionals in 1915 with an aim to uniting medical professionals, upholding medical ethics and advocating social integrity. It currently counts over 430,000 members and 82 specialty societies. It publishes over 70 medical journals (including the Chinese Medical Journal, as well as a medical bulletin and a medical education magazine. The CMA plays a leading and active role in the nation’s medical education, training and professional exchanges.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences has six sections:

The CAS has eleven regional branches at Shenyang, Changchun, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Kunming, Ningbo, Xi’an, Lanzhou, Hefei and Xinjiang.

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