Pharmacy Practice and Education in the People's Republic of China

OBJECTIVE:To describe the pharmacy profession and the education programs available to train pharmacists in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The practice of pharmacy in the hospital setting and the current development of clinical services are also described.BACKGROUND:There are two streams of medical practices in the PRC: traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. Hospital and community pharmacies are responsible for the dispensing of medicinals used for both streams of medical practices. Forty-two colleges of pharmacy offer pharmacy education, half of which provide a Western medicine approach and the other half traditional Chinese medicine. Both types of colleges offer a four-year curriculum with options for specialization. Opportunities for graduate study are also available. Most of the graduates work in hospital pharmacies. Hospital pharmacies participate in the bulk manufacture of drugs and parenteral fluids. A bulk dispensing system is used by some hospitals; individual patient doses are ...