A group of pharmacists yesterday marched in Taipei to protest a Ministry of Health and Welfare interpretation that allows people who have not passed the national pharmacist’s license examination to sell traditional Chinese medicine.
The ministry on March 18 issued an interpretation of Article 103 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法) that would allow people who meet certain criteria to apply for a certificate and register to become a traditional Chinese medicine dealer.
Under interpretation order No. 1141860113, people who graduated from traditional Chinese medicine or crude medicine related departments of a university or college, have acquired 35 credits from core Chinese medicine courses and have more than one year of practical experience at a Chinese medicine dealer can apply for a certificate and register to sell Chinese medicine.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
The Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations said it gathered about 5,000 people for yesterday’s rally on Ketagalan Boulevard to protest the interpretation.
The group said that as traditional Chinese medicine is categorized as drugs, it should be distributed by registered pharmacists, with dealers required to pass the national examination to obtain a license.
The group staged yesterday’s march to “defend professionalism without compromise,” after the government did not respond to their April 22 protest outside the ministry in Taipei, association president Huang Jin-shun (黃金舜) said.
Medicines need to be handled professionally, and pharmacists’ duties include managing, prescribing and monitoring drugs, he said, adding that if traditional Chinese medicine was designated as food products, pharmacists would have no opinion on the matter, but they are listed as drugs.
Drugs should be managed by pharmacists to ensure safety, and pharmacists should go through the education-examination-training-practice procedure to ensure professionalism, Huang said.
Allowing people who only took courses without examination to become “professionals” is disrespectful to pharmacists, he said.
The National Union of Chinese Medicine Association has said that the ministry’s interpretation helped guarantee the development of the Chinese medicine industry.
However, Huang said that if the traditional Chinese medicine community wants to attract pharmacists to the field, it should improve the practice environment in the sector.
For example, it should advocate for medicines prescribed by Chinese medicine doctors to be covered by the National Health Insurance or require that only pharmacists dispense medicine at Traditional Chinese medicine clinics.
In the past 20 years, the number of traditional Chinese medicine dealers that hired pharmacists has increased from 421 to 1,279, Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations spokesman Huang Yen-ju (黃彥儒) said.
The protest aims to ensure that distributors of traditional Chinese medicine have accurate knowledge of the medicines they sell and to urge the government to clarify which of the medicines are considered food products and which are drugs, he said.
Chiang Chen-yu (江振聿), a fourth generation traditional Chinese medicine dealer and secretary-general of the Taipei Medical University School of Pharmacy Alumni Association, said his grandfather, father and uncle are all traditional Chinese medicine dealers, which is why he followed the law and studied pharmacy.
The past custom of passing down the business from father to son cannot ensure that the correct knowledge of the medicines has been inherited, and even he has trouble understanding his grandfather’s “encrypted” formulas, he said.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
RSS