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Health Service, Drug Production Face More Scrutiny
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The Ministry of Health has called for a further crackdown on unlicensed medical services, while the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said it had planned to carry out on-the-spot checks of drug production processes in pharmaceutical companies.

Chen Xiaohong, Vice Minister of Health, said the crackdown this year will mainly target cases reported by citizens and public hospitals hiring unlicensed doctors or offering illegal medical services.

The campaign will also take tough measures against officials who ignore their supervisory duties, Chen said.

In January, the ministry sent five teams to ten provinces and municipalities for secret investigations.

The result showed that 46 of the 116 institutions investigated -- medical and family planning institutions, medical research organs and traditional Chinese medicine massage salons -- did not have practitioner licenses.

"This proves that unlicensed medical services are still commonplace, particularly in areas linking urban and rural areas," Chen said.

Earlier reports said that the ministry had dealt with 174,000 cases of unlicensed medical practice over the last two years, as a major step to tighten control over medical services.

During 2005-06, the ministry penalized about 58,000 medical institutions for employing unlicensed doctors, and confiscated more than 80 million yuan (US$10.26 million) in illegal incomes and imposed fines of 280 million yuan (US$36 million).

Meanwhile, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said it had planned to carry out on-the-spot checks of drug production processes in pharmaceutical companies.

On-the-spot sample tests will be carried out to check the whole manufacturing process from raw materials through to processing procedures, said Wu Zhen, SFDA deputy director.

"Drugs that fail the tests won't get government approvals," Wu said.

"After getting approval for certain drugs, some drug companies just cut corners in production in order to get higher profits," Wu said. "These scoundrels will be identified and dealt with."

"On-the-spot checks will stop drug companies from producing poor-quality drugs and reduce the risks of fake drugs appearing on the market," he said.

Provincial food and drug administrations will be responsible for the on-the-spot checks, according to the SFDA.

The SFDA, criticized for failing in its duty recently, has promised to tighten controls on pharmaceutical products.

From last August to February, the SFDA revoked the approvals for 353 medicines and 3,049 applications for production of new drugs were turned down.

(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2007)

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