China is clamping down on the abuse of antibiotics, with new rules from the Ministry of Health set to kick in on August 1st.
It’s hoped the latest set of regulations will curb overuse of antibiotics. From now on only doctors and pharmacists who have passed qualifying examinations will have the right to prescribe antibiotics.
The plan also makes many aspects more official, including the selection, purchase and clinical application of antibacterial medicine. Monitoring and warnings will also become stricter. In recent years, the inappropriate use of antibiotics has been a growing concern in China.
Only around 20 percent of patients require antibiotics, but recent statistics show as many as 70 percent of Chinese in-patients using the drugs. The maximum recommended by the World Health Organization is 30 percent.