Licensed Pharmacist System in China /Asian Journal of Social Pharmacy,2007,2(2)

Licensed Pharmacist System in China

HUANG Shi-xi
(Alliant International University, San Diego 10455, USA)

Abstract

Objective To review the development and practice of licensed pharmacist system in China and provide ideas for its reform. Method
Methods of literature analysis were adopted to describe the history and practice of licensed pharmacist system in China. Results and
Conclusion The future of licensed pharmacist system in China is promising. Licensed pharmacists will play a much important role in
delivering medication and pharmaceutical care.

Keywords: licensed pharmacist; system; management

中國執業藥師資格制度簡介
黃熙熙

(Alliant國際大學, 聖地亞哥 10455, 美國)

摘要：目的 瞭解中國執業藥師制度的歷史和現狀，為其改革提供思路。方法 通過採用文獻分析，描述了中國

執業藥師制度的歷史和現狀。結果與結論 執業藥師制度前景光明。隨著制度的深入推行，執業藥師將會在提
供優良藥品和藥學服務的過程中發揮更大的作用。

關鍵詞：執業藥師；制度；管理

The licensed pharmacist system in China has been
implemented for 13 years since its first establishment in
1994. During these 13 years, this system has developed
tremendously through continuous reform and exploration.
This paper gives a brief introduction of the licensed
pharmacist system in China.
1 The history of licensed pharmacist system
in China
The first development stage of licensed pharmacist
Author’s information:HUANG Xi-xi,Alliant International University.
Major research areas:administration and finance.Tel:1-858-729-3526.
E-mail:emmanuel778899emily@yahoo.com.cn
system in China was from 1994 to 1998. As a response to the
central government’s policy of implementing two certificate
systems (i.e., academic certificate and occupational
qualification) and the availability of standards for various
occupational qualifications and corresponding recruitments
in November 1993, the Provisional Regulation of Licensed
Pharmacist was promulgated by the State Medicine
Administration and Ministry of Personnel in March 1994.
One thousand qualified pharmacists were licensed in the
same year, indicating the initiation of the system in the area
of Western medicine.
In July 1995, the Provisional Regulation of Licensed
Pharmacist for traditional Chinese medicine was promulga-

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 Licensed Pharmacist System in China /Asian Journal of Social Pharmacy,2007,2(2)
ted by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese
Medicine and Ministry of Personnel. A total of 434 licensed
pharmacists were designated in the same year, signifying
the implementation of the system in both Western and
traditional Chinese medicines.
The first license qualification examination for Western
medicine practitioners was conducted in October 1995;
the first examination for traditional Chinese medicine
practitioners was given in October 1996. In January 1997,
Chinese government officially brought forward the licensed
pharmacist system in China.
In this stage, the policy was put in force only among
practitioners working in the manufacturing and distribution
sectors. Little effort was exerted to implement the function
of licensed pharmacists and the number of licensed
pharmacists increased slowly. However, this stage laid a
solid foundation for the future development of the system.
The State Council undertook a fundamental reform in
1998. As a result, the State Drug Administration (SDA), an
integrated drug supervisory and administrative department,
was finally established in order to enforce the supervision
and regulation of drugs. SDA was empowered with the
authority to implement the licensed pharmacist system. This
was a milestone in the development of China’s pharmacist
management system which became an important component
of drug supervisory and administrative system of China.
In April 1999, the revised edition of the Provisional
Regulation of Licensed Pharmacist was promulgated by
the newly founded SDA and the Ministry of Personnel.
According to this new edition of the regulation, the licensed
pharmacist system was also applied to practitioners in
medical institutions and the two management systems
for Western and traditional Chinese medicines were
combined into one system using uniform policy, curriculum,
examination, registration, and management and classified
practice. Furthermore, additional regulation items on
registration and continuing education were enacted. In the
same year, the requirement of minimum working period for
licensed pharmacists was relaxed and the examination cycle
was changed from once a year to once every two years. The
new examination arrangement was more appropriate and
reasonable.
In October 1999, prescription and non-prescription
classification system was carried out in selected
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demonstration chain drugstores in several big cities like
Beijing, Guangzhou, and Nanjing. This practice sent out
a strong and definite signal that this new model of drug
management would soon be implemented in China. This
policy created a great demand for licensed pharmacists
to ensure the quality of drug and conduct pharmaceutical
care. It was a main driving force for increased number of
pharmacists in a short period after its implementation.
In January 2000, the Provisional Regulation of Trading
Administration of Prescription and Non-prescription Drugs
was released which stipulated that employment of licensed
pharmacists was one of the most important conditions for
drugstores to sell prescription drugs and non-prescription
drugs of the first category. In addition, pharmacists in the
store needed to fulfill duties required by the regulation.
Later on, there were similar personnel requirements in Good
Supplying Practice (GSP) which also gave an impetus to the
demand for licensed pharmacists in China.
In August 2001, SDA issued a 2004-2005 work plan
for carrying out national licensed pharmacist management,
which further reinforced the implementation of pharmacist
policy in the settings of drug manufacturing, distribution
and utilization, and set down specific measures for
accelerating the increase of pharmacists. In September 2001,
the Qualification Accreditation Center of SDA developed a
software program for improving the efficiency of pharmacist
registration.
In July 2002, in order to improve the Compendium
of Licensed Pharmacist Examination SDA released a new
version in which some contents were revised and enriched
to address the changing requirements of pharmacists’
knowledge, skills and competence for their practice.
In September 2002, the Implementing Ordinance of
Drug Administration Law went into effect which stipulated
that employment of licensed pharmacists was one of
the prerequisites for drug retailing enterprises that sell
prescription drugs and non-prescription drugs of the first
category. This was the first time that licensed pharmacists’
status and function were recognized in the form of law,
which made the importance of pharmacists become much
greater than before.
Since 2002, those pharmacists who met specific
requirements could participate in the one-subject
examination. This policy, laid in 2001, was welcomed and
 Licensed Pharmacist System in China /Asian Journal of Social Pharmacy,2007,2(2)
highly praised by pharmaceutical professionals. It greatly
motivated their enthusiasm in taking part in the qualification
examination.
China Licensed Pharmacist Association (CLPA) was
established in February 2003. As a national academic
organization of pharmacists, CLPA’s mission is to safeguard
rights and interests, implement self-discipline, offer services
and conduct coordination. In December 2003, the Journal
of China Licensed Pharmacists sponsored by CLPA started
publication. CLPA also hosts the China Licensed Pharmacist
Forum (CLPF).
With China’s affiliation to the World Trade Organization,
the innovation of administrative and inspection system of
Chinese government, the formation of market economy and
the legislation of the licensed pharmacist system, CLPA
would play a much more important role. In 2003, CLPA
launched a long-distance continuing education system
which is pharmacist-oriented and authorized by the State
Food and Drug Administration (SFDA). Furthermore, CLPA
promulgated the Required and Elective Courses of Licensed
Pharmacist Continuing Education (2003 Edition) in May
2003. SFDA revised and released a new version of the
Temporary Provisions of Continuing Education for Licensed
Pharmacists in November 2003.
From August 2000 to November 2001, three research
groups comprised of experts were organized by SDA
to translate foreign laws and regulation of licensed
pharmacists, compare different licensed pharmacist
systems, and review the licensed pharmacist management
in China. Based on this work, the Law of Chinese Licensed
Pharmacists was drafted and then submitted to the State
Council in October 2003. Although this law was not
released yet, the effort had an influence on the increase of
licensed pharmacists so much that there were 14,174 new
licensed pharmacists in 2006 and the total number reached
143,681 by the end of 2006.
2 Licensed pharmacists’ practice in China
Although the total number of licensed pharmacists
reached 143,681, on average, there was only 1 licensed
pharmacist per 13,000 people in China while the ratio
attained 1:800-1500 in many Western countries. There was
big shortage of licensed pharmacists in pharmacy practice.
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Some experts estimated that there should be 1,000,000
licensed pharmacists to meet the needs in the future. The
distribution of pharmacists in different sectors and regions
was unbalanced. Eighty percent of pharmacists worked
in the manufacturing sector and hospitals, while less
than 10 percent in community pharmacies; 70 percent of
pharmacists were in East China and only 30 percent in West
China[1].
Nowadays, community pharmacies are becoming
the most accessible primary health care facilities. From
2001 to 2004, a transitional policy implemented by SDA
allowed Practicing Pharmacists to take the responsibility
of licensed pharmacists to safeguard the quality of drug
and pharmaceutical care because of shortage of licensed
pharmacists in community pharmacies. During those years,
patients received drugs and services from both practicing
pharmacists and licensed pharmacists. The key to this
problem is to increase the number of licensed pharmacists
quickly and to ensure the monopoly of their function.
In those community pharmacies employing pharmacists,
pharmaceutical care is not well provided by pharmacists.
Their major practice is still dispensing drugs to patients
without conducting other services. The lack of appreciation
for pharmaceutical services by health professionals, patients
and health authorities is a major barrier to changing the
pharmacists’ role or practice in community pharmacies.
Some problems do exist in our services. First, nearly
80 percent of patients get their medication from hospitals.
Community pharmacies dispense fewer prescriptions
because hospitals are unwilling to lose their economic
interest from drug sales. Under current health care
system, most licensed pharmacists prefer working in
hospital pharmacies than in community pharmacies,
and community pharmacies practice in China is usually
restricted to dispensing drugs. Pharmaceutical service is
rarely provided because it is not profitable. In addition,
licensed pharmacists in hospitals are not given adequate
recognition for the reason that this policy is established
by SDA rather than Ministry of Health. It’s necessary to
better implement licensed pharmacist system in hospitals
to encourage licensed pharmacists to change their work
from the traditional model to the pharmaceutical care
model. Second, people’s self-care consciousness is not well-
established. The majority of customers know little or do not
 Licensed Pharmacist System in China /Asian Journal of Social Pharmacy,2007,2(2)

know about licensed pharmacists’ duties and responsibility
at all. Pharmaceutical service is just a concept among
professionals which is not known by the public. There is
still a long way to go to enhance people’s awareness of self-
medication and the function of licensed pharmacists.
3 Conclusion
promising. Licensed pharmacists will play a much important
role in delivering medication and pharmaceutical care.
Reference
[1]FANG Yu, HUANG Tai-kang, YANG Shi-min. Licensed pharmacists’
practice in community pharmacy in China. Asian Journal of Social

The future of licensed pharmacist system in China is Pharmacy, 2006,1(1):1-3.

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