Notice of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Further Strengthening the Construction of Geriatric Departments in Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals

To the competent departments of traditional Chinese medicine of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Health Commission of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine:

In order to thoroughly implement the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Strengthening the Work on Aging in the New Era" and the "Healthy China 2030" Planning Outline, actively respond to the aging of the population in the mainland, effectively improve the quality and level of traditional Chinese medicine services for the health of the elderly, promote the high-quality development of the geriatrics department of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals (including hospitals integrating traditional Chinese and Western medicine and ethnic minority medical hospitals, the same below), and meet the growing health needs of elderly patients, the following notice is hereby given on strengthening the construction of geriatrics departments of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals:

1. Strengthen the establishment of geriatric departments in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals

According to the scale of the local elderly population and the demand for traditional Chinese medicine services, all traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should set up geriatric departments and build and manage them as independent departments. In principle, the number of beds in the geriatric department of the second-level Chinese medicine hospital shall not be less than 20, and the number of beds in the geriatric department of the third-level Chinese medicine hospital shall not be less than 30 in principle.

2. Clarify the functional positioning of geriatric diagnosis and treatment services

The geriatrics department of the second-level traditional Chinese medicine hospital mainly provides the diagnosis and treatment of common and frequent diseases of the elderly in the region, and the geriatrics department of the third-level traditional Chinese medicine hospital should make full use of the technical methods of traditional Chinese medicine and modern science and technology, focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of acute and critical diseases and difficult and complex diseases in the geriatric department and the outpatient diagnosis and treatment services of the dominant diseases of traditional Chinese medicine. The national geriatric specialty of traditional Chinese medicine should take the lead in forming a specialty alliance to promote the sinking of high-quality traditional Chinese medicine geriatric resources, standardize diagnosis and treatment behaviors, and improve service capabilities through specialized assistance, technology promotion, academic exchanges, scientific research collaboration, etc.

3. Pay attention to the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine

The Geriatrics Department of the Chinese Medicine Hospital should focus on providing Chinese medicine services in its medical activities, and form and continuously optimize the TCM diagnosis and treatment plan for key diseases in the department in combination with the clinical practice of the department. Attention should be paid to the excavation, collation and clinical application of non-drug therapies of traditional Chinese medicine such as acupuncture and massage, combined with the characteristics of multi-disease coexistence, complex conditions and long treatment cycles of geriatric diseases, and actively apply appropriate techniques of traditional Chinese medicine for common diseases or symptoms of the elderly with clear etiology and definite curative effect, and promote the intervention guidelines of traditional Chinese medicine for the elderly.

Fourth, improve the ability of comprehensive diagnosis and treatment

The geriatrics department of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should actively carry out comprehensive geriatric assessment, diagnosis and treatment of geriatric syndrome and multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment, and actively carry out high-risk screening for falls, venous thrombosis, nutritional risks, aspiration and bed falls for hospitalized elderly patients. Optimize the professional composition and structure of geriatricians, form a multi-professional team, and improve the ability of multi-disease co-treatment of geriatric diseases. Establish a drug management system for elderly patients, adopt hierarchical management measures for elderly patients with different risk levels, strengthen drug explanations and reminders, and improve the level of drug safety.

5. Strengthen the construction of talent echelon

Traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should do a good job in the inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine experience in geriatric departments, rely on traditional Chinese medicine hospitals above the second level to set up academic experience inheritance studios, and select successors of academic experience to learn from teachers and Xi. Support the elderly Chinese medicine experts in geriatrics with rich clinical experience and technical expertise to carry out clinical teaching work. The competent departments of traditional Chinese medicine at all levels should actively organize and carry out the training of geriatric health professionals in traditional Chinese medicine, support geriatric medical staff to participate in geriatric professional training, and improve their ability to diagnose, treat and care for geriatric diseases.

6. Actively carry out scientific research on the prevention and treatment of geriatric diseases with traditional Chinese medicine

The hospitals where the national geriatric departments of traditional Chinese medicine are located and the qualified tertiary traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should establish a scientific research mechanism oriented by clinical needs, give full play to the overall advantages of traditional Chinese medicine, combine the physiological and pathological characteristics of multi-disease comorbidity and the clinical diagnosis and treatment characteristics of multi-disease co-management in the elderly, and focus on the common chronic respiratory diseases, metabolic diseases and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease in the elderly, as well as senile frailty, For diseases and treatment difficulties that have a significant impact on the health of the elderly, such as sarcopenia, we will carry out integrated research on clinical research to improve clinical efficacy. At the same time, applied research is carried out in geriatric rehabilitation nursing technology and geriatric function maintenance technology to improve the quality of life of elderly patients.

7. Explore full-cycle health management

Give full play to the unique role of traditional Chinese medicine in preventive health care, chronic disease management, rehabilitation, and palliative care, and actively explore the full-cycle management of the health of elderly patients. Strengthen the publicity of traditional Chinese medicine health and health knowledge, promote traditional Chinese medicine exercises such as Tai Chi and Baduanjin, and improve the health literacy of the elderly. The geriatric department of a qualified Chinese medicine hospital can establish a cooperation mechanism with community health service centers, medical and elderly care institutions, nursing homes and other institutions, encourage the elderly patients to provide home services such as home visits, health status identification and assessment, health consultation and guidance, and establish a continuous health management model for the whole course of the disease from the hospital to the outside of the hospital to the family.

8. Improve the experience of elderly patients seeking medical treatment

Traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should speed up the construction of age-friendly medical institutions in terms of culture, management, service, and environment, so as to facilitate the elderly to seek medical treatment. Optimize the process of medical services, set up green channels for the elderly to seek medical treatment, and provide priority registration, medical treatment, examination and medicine collection services for the disabled, semi-disabled and elderly people. Improve a variety of registration methods such as clinics, telephones, networks, and on-site appointments, and retain a certain proportion of on-site number sources. Carry out age-appropriate renovation of hospital public facilities. Encourage medical establishments to set up volunteer service posts, and clarify the personnel who guide and accompany the service.

9. Strengthen the construction of quality control centers for geriatric diseases in traditional Chinese medicine

The provincial-level competent department of traditional Chinese medicine shall set up a provincial-level quality control center for traditional Chinese medicine geriatrics, and cities with conditions shall set up a city-level quality control center for traditional Chinese medicine geriatrics, and extend the quality control organization to counties (districts) with conditions. The competent departments of traditional Chinese medicine at all levels should strengthen the construction and management of the quality control center for geriatric diseases of traditional Chinese medicine, strengthen the guidance and assessment of the quality control center, and improve the standardization, scientific and professional level of the work of the quality control center.

10. Implement entity responsibility

The competent departments of traditional Chinese medicine at all levels should fully understand the importance of the construction of the geriatric department of the traditional Chinese medicine hospital, strengthen the guidance and supervision of the construction of the geriatric department of the traditional Chinese medicine hospital, summarize the good experience and practices in a timely manner, and form a good industry development atmosphere through the advanced to drive the backward. All traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should strengthen the standardized construction and management of the geriatrics department of their own institutions, give full play to the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine, ensure the quality and safety of medical treatment, and constantly improve the incentive mechanism and supporting measures to promote the high-quality development of the geriatric department of traditional Chinese medicine.

State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine

December 15, 2023

(Form of information disclosure: voluntary disclosure)

Source: Official website of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine