Headlines blare: Unlicensed Sellers of Traditional Chinese Medicine Spark Furor among Pharmacists
Pharmacists stage demonstration against government's Chinese medicine policy changes
By Lin Chih-yi / Staff reporter
A wave of indignation rippled through the ranks of pharmacists in Taipei yesterday, as they took to the streets to protest the recent Ministry of Health and Welfare interpretation that greenlights uncertified individuals to hawk traditional Chinese medicine.
On March 18, the Ministry of Health and Welfare bent the rules set out in Article 103 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. This new order, numbered 1141860113, permits individuals who meet certain criteria to apply for a certificate and register as traditional Chinese medicine peddlers.
The new criteria is not overly rigorous, requiring just a college degree from Chinese medicine or botanical medicine programs, accrual of 35 credits from core Chinese medicine courses, and over a year of on-the-job experience at a Chinese medicine outlet.
The Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations orchestrated a rally on Ketagalan Boulevard yesterday, summoning an estimated 5,000 agitated colleagues. The group's president, Huang Jin-shun, deplored the interpretation as a bald-faced attempt to devalue the hard-won professional standards of pharmacists.
"Traditional Chinese medicine is drugs, plain and simple," Huang thundered. "These concoctions should be dispensed by registered pharmacists, who've passed the grueling licensing examination."
The protesters, donning white smocks and clutching placards, demanded stricter regulations to protect the public from subpar dealings and buffoon-like hucksters. They accused the government of disregarding their calls for improved professional safeguards, which led them to mobilize for this demonstration.
"Medicines must be handled with grave importance, not treated as mere consumables," Huang exhorted. "Our role goes beyond selling jars of herbs and potion. We manage, prescribe, and monitor the effects of these treatments."
Pharmacists, Huang stressed, undergo rigorous education, examination, training, and hands-on experience to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to administer medications responsibly. "It's a disgrace to the profession when individuals can waltz right in and claim to be 'experts' without having gone through our hurdles," he sputtered.
The National Union of Chinese Medicine Association, perhaps seeing themselves as the yin to the pharmacists' yang, applauded the government's move, claiming it would breathe new life into the sagging industry. However, Huang countered by suggesting that the Chinese medicine community could win over pharmacists by creating a more hospitable practice environment, such as advocating for insurance coverage of Chinese medicine treatments or barring unlicensed dealers from selling medications.
In the last two decades, the number of Chinese medicine outlets that employ pharmacists has skyrocketed, jumping from 421 to 1,279. This is a heartening sign that pharmacists are irreplaceable, Huang Yen-ju, a spokesperson for the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations, asserted.
Chiang Chen-yu, a fourth-generation traditional Chinese medicine peddler and secretary of the Taipei Medical University School of Pharmacy Alumni Association, maintains that there's inherent value in a pharmacist's expertise. His family business, which spans centuries, has enabled him to witness the invaluable contributions that pharmacists make.
"You can't rely solely on tradition to pass down correct knowledge about these drugs," Chiang insisted. "My own grandfather's formulas remain an enigma to me."
In summary, pharmacists are taking a firm stand against the Ministry of Health and Welfare's policy of allowing unlicensed individuals to sell traditional Chinese medicine. They argue that this policy harms public safety, devalues their professional qualifications, and undermines the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. While some see the loosened restrictions as a lifeline for the stagnant industry, pharmacists insist that a more educated and regulated Chinese medicine sector would yield far better results.
- The Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations argued that the Ministry of Health and Welfare's interpretation allowing uncertified individuals to sell traditional Chinese medicine is a disrespectful attempt to degrade the hard-earned professional standards of pharmacists.
- Pharmacists, according to Huang Jin-shun, the president of the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations, undergo rigorous education, examination, training, and hands-on experience to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to administer medications responsibly.
- Chiang Chen-yu, a fourth-generation traditional Chinese medicine peddler and secretary of the Taipei Medical University School of Pharmacy Alumni Association, acknowledged the inherent value in a pharmacist's expertise, stating that traditional knowledge about these drugs cannot solely rely on tradition to be accurately passed down.
