The Leading Group for Traditional Chinese Medicine Work of Henan Province recently held a plenary meeting. The meeting affirmed that all localities and relevant departments should focus on key tasks, refine the division of responsibilities, strengthen supervision and implementation, and accelerate the high-quality development of TCM-related undertakings and industries across the province. Huang Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee, Executive Vice Governor of the province, and head of the Leading Group for TCM Work, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Dai Baihua, Vice Governor of the province and Executive Deputy Head of the Leading Group, presided over the meeting. All members of the Leading Group were in attendance.

The meeting heard a report on the work related to traditional Chinese medicine, reviewed the “Division of Tasks under the ‘Implementation Opinions of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee and the People’s Government of Henan Province on Promoting the Inheritance, Innovation, and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine,’” the “Rules of Procedure for the Leading Group for Traditional Chinese Medicine Work of Henan Province,” and the “Detailed Rules of Operation for the Office of the Leading Group for Traditional Chinese Medicine Work of Henan Province,” summarized the province’s TCM work in the previous phase, and made arrangements for the key tasks in the next phase.

In recent years, under the wise leadership of the Party Central Committee, the State Council, the Provincial Party Committee, and the Provincial Government, all localities and relevant departments in Henan Province have grounded their efforts in local conditions and fully leveraged the province’s strengths in traditional Chinese medicine. As a result, remarkable progress has been made in the inheritance, innovation, and development of TCM in Henan, with continuously enhanced service capabilities, the initial establishment of an industrial foundation, and steadily strengthened cultural heritage preservation. At the same time, the development of TCM across the province still faces challenges, including insufficient provision of high-quality services, weak capacity for inheritance and innovation, a relatively low level of industrialization, and inadequate institutional mechanisms and policies.

The meeting emphasized that all localities and relevant departments must adhere to a goal-oriented, results-oriented, and problem-oriented approach and focus on the following key tasks: First, accelerate the development of the TCM service system. This includes speeding up the establishment of national regional TCM (specialty) diagnosis and treatment centers, provincial-level TCM specialty diagnosis and treatment centers, and provincial-level regional TCM specialty diagnosis and treatment centers; in 2022, standardize TCM departments in all general hospitals, specialized hospitals, and maternal and child health care institutions, and ensure full coverage of TCM clinics in township health centers and community health service centers. We will comprehensively strengthen the development of clinically strong disciplines, continue implementing the “Zhongjing Talent Program,” enhance evidence-based capacity building, and elevate the level of TCM prevention and treatment technologies for major and complex diseases as well as chronic illnesses, along with the research and development of new TCM drugs. Second, expand and strengthen Henan Province’s TCM industry. This involves strengthening quality control of Chinese medicinal materials, reinforcing environmental protection in authentic production areas, intensifying conservation of rare and endangered wild medicinal plants and animals, and strictly regulating the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and plant growth regulators; planning the construction of bases for authentic medicinal materials, guiding the concentration of resources and factors in these regions, promoting large-scale and standardized cultivation, and establishing a timely insurance system for Chinese medicinal material cultivation. We will also formulate a development plan for the TCM industry, provide support, guidance, and services to TCM enterprises, and cultivate leading enterprises and brands across the province. Furthermore, we will strengthen research on the development and application of TCM to provide robust technical support for the growth of Henan’s TCM industry and TCM health service sector. Third, intensify efforts to cultivate TCM talent to attract and leverage expertise for the province’s TCM development. We will bolster the ranks of leading TCM professionals, vigorously support high-level TCM talent across the province in applying for and being recognized as academicians, National Masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine, nationally renowned senior TCM practitioners, and veteran pharmaceutical experts, and foster and promote a group of first-class TCM physicians and academic schools at the national level. At the same time, we will focus on strengthening grassroots TCM teams, vigorously develop remote TCM consultations and training programs, and strive to achieve full coverage of TCM services in rural areas. Fourth, vigorously promote TCM culture. We will continue to enhance and expand the national influence and recognition of brands such as Zhongjing Culture, Luoyang Bone-Setting, and the Four Great Huai Medicinals, and establish a number of provincial-level TCM cultural education and publicity bases. We will also promote the international outreach of TCM, actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, encourage deep domestic and international cooperation and exchanges in TCM medical care, education, research, pharmaceuticals, and service industries, explore ways to integrate distinctive TCM brands with trade in services and tourism, and position TCM as a hallmark of Henan’s opening-up and cultural exchange. Fifth, increase policy support. We will expedite the promulgation of the “Measures of Henan Province for Implementing the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Traditional Chinese Medicine”; scientifically formulate the Henan Provincial TCM Development Plan for the 14th Five-Year Period; further increase fiscal support, requiring city and county governments to include funding for TCM development in their respective budgets. All levels of government, in budget preparation and execution, should allocate projects and funds based on the needs of TCM development and available financial resources, giving priority to supporting TCM inheritance and innovation, clinical application research, and talent cultivation, while improving the operating conditions of TCM hospitals. Relevant provincial departments, when allocating projects and funds, must uphold the principle of equal emphasis on TCM and Western medicine, ensuring that fiscal investment in TCM only increases and never decreases. They should promptly conduct research to establish a pricing mechanism for medical service items that reflects the value of TCM technical labor and a dynamic adjustment mechanism. We will also accelerate the improvement of medical insurance payment methods tailored to the characteristics of TCM, tilting total prepayment control targets toward TCM medical institutions, increasing the reimbursement ratio for TCM services, and lowering the threshold for reimbursement. Specialized and advantageous services such as acupuncture, tuina, and Chinese herbal medicines and preparations will be included in the scope of unified outpatient payments. We will support the development of Chinese herbal preparations and promote their rational dispensing and use.

The meeting called for all localities and relevant departments to pool their efforts, collaborate closely, and forge a powerful synergy to advance the development of traditional Chinese medicine across the province. It emphasized the need to strengthen overall planning and coordination, fully leverage the role of the Provincial Leading Group for TCM Work, and conduct research on and promote key policies for the inheritance, innovation, and development of TCM throughout the province, as well as coordinate the resolution of major issues in TCM reform and development. The Office of the Leading Group is tasked with intensifying oversight and enforcement to ensure that problems hindering and constraining the development of TCM in the province are effectively addressed. Furthermore, it is imperative to streamline the TCM management system and gradually establish an administrative management framework that is commensurate with Henan’s status as a major TCM province and with the requirements of industry regulation. At the provincial, municipal, and county levels, designated agencies responsible for TCM management must be clearly defined, and, in light of the needs of TCM’s institutional and industrial development, appropriate increases and reallocations of high-level TCM technical and managerial personnel should be made to ensure adequate staffing. Finally, rigorous implementation is essential: all localities and relevant departments must strengthen their sense of responsibility, set clear timelines and assign specific accountability, and translate policy measures into concrete results that drive the inheritance, innovation, and development of TCM, thereby accelerating Henan’s transformation from a major TCM province into a leading TCM province.