Amending the Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of China in 2021: A Commentary
ABSTRACTThe Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of the People’s Republic of China, enacted in 1999, was amended in 2021. This commentary reviews the key points of the amendment and raises doubts as to one of its points. Specifically, we argue that the minimum education level required to take the...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Health Systems & Reform |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23288604.2022.2048438 |
| _version_ | 1797980052005060608 |
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| author | Chengxiang Tang Jiayi Jiang Yuanyuan Gu Gordon Liu |
| author_facet | Chengxiang Tang Jiayi Jiang Yuanyuan Gu Gordon Liu |
| author_sort | Chengxiang Tang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACTThe Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of the People’s Republic of China, enacted in 1999, was amended in 2021. This commentary reviews the key points of the amendment and raises doubts as to one of its points. Specifically, we argue that the minimum education level required to take the physicians’ licensing examination should be set to completion of a bachelor degree, instead of a vocational diploma or junior college graduation as in the 2021 amendment. China adopted a system of multi-tiered medical education more than 70 years ago. This policy has resulted in a threshold of entry-level medical education far below the global standards. The highly heterogeneous education background of physicians in China has led to low standards of practicing physicians, which in turn have significantly negative impacts on the health care market. We illustrate changes over time in the educational distribution and regional distribution of practicing physicians in China, and present reasons to improve entry-level educational standards, by setting the physician licensing threshold at an appropriate level. This will not only improve the overall quality of physicians but will also help address equity and efficiency issues in the health care market. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:49:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-efdd6afa9c3f434eb6a96673c12decec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2328-8604 2328-8620 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:49:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Systems & Reform |
| spelling | doaj.art-efdd6afa9c3f434eb6a96673c12decec2022-12-22T04:42:08ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHealth Systems & Reform2328-86042328-86202022-01-018110.1080/23288604.2022.2048438Amending the Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of China in 2021: A CommentaryChengxiang Tang0Jiayi Jiang1Yuanyuan Gu2Gordon Liu3Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University, NSW, AustraliaInstitute for Global Health and Development, Peking University, Beijing, Haidian, ChinaMacquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University, NSW, AustraliaInstitute for Global Health and Development, Peking University, Beijing, Haidian, ChinaABSTRACTThe Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of the People’s Republic of China, enacted in 1999, was amended in 2021. This commentary reviews the key points of the amendment and raises doubts as to one of its points. Specifically, we argue that the minimum education level required to take the physicians’ licensing examination should be set to completion of a bachelor degree, instead of a vocational diploma or junior college graduation as in the 2021 amendment. China adopted a system of multi-tiered medical education more than 70 years ago. This policy has resulted in a threshold of entry-level medical education far below the global standards. The highly heterogeneous education background of physicians in China has led to low standards of practicing physicians, which in turn have significantly negative impacts on the health care market. We illustrate changes over time in the educational distribution and regional distribution of practicing physicians in China, and present reasons to improve entry-level educational standards, by setting the physician licensing threshold at an appropriate level. This will not only improve the overall quality of physicians but will also help address equity and efficiency issues in the health care market.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23288604.2022.2048438Chinalicensingmedical educationphysician supply |
| spellingShingle | Chengxiang Tang Jiayi Jiang Yuanyuan Gu Gordon Liu Amending the Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of China in 2021: A Commentary Health Systems & Reform China licensing medical education physician supply |
| title | Amending the Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of China in 2021: A Commentary |
| title_full | Amending the Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of China in 2021: A Commentary |
| title_fullStr | Amending the Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of China in 2021: A Commentary |
| title_full_unstemmed | Amending the Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of China in 2021: A Commentary |
| title_short | Amending the Law for Licensing Medical Practitioners of China in 2021: A Commentary |
| title_sort | amending the law for licensing medical practitioners of china in 2021 a commentary |
| topic | China licensing medical education physician supply |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23288604.2022.2048438 |
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