Objective The modification of Chinese patent medicines (CPM) instructions is currently the focus of national drug regulation, with policies and regulations being established. Nevertheless, the policies pertaining to CPM instructions have not been thoroughly investigated. This study analyzes the direction and current issues with existing policy items to give a reference for future optimization and adjustment of policies linked to CPM instructions. Methods The official website of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and National Health Commission (NHC) were searched to collect policy documents related to the CPM instructions issued at the national level in China from January 1st 2000 to June 1st 2024. Based on the classification of policy tools (supply-based policy tools, demand-based policy tools, environment-based policy tools) and the dimension of policy development (policy planning, policy implementation, policy supervision, and policy evaluation ), a two-dimensional analytical framework of "policy tools and policy process" was constructed by using the content analysis method and the quantitative analysis method, and policy documents were analyzed. Results The 27 policy texts included in the analysis generated 104 policy entries in total, wherein, environment-based policy tools (74.04%) were used the most in the dimension of policy tools, followed by demand-based policy tools (24.04%) and supply-based policy tools (1.92%). In the dimension of policy development, policy planning tools, policy implementation tools, policy supervision tools, and policy evaluation tools accounted for 24.04%, 52.88%, 17.31%, and 5.77%, respectively. An in-depth analysis of the content of the policy entries discovered that the existing policy took into account the specification of the content of the instruction and the standardization of the expression of writing, the instruction application guidance, etc, and more and more attention was being paid to the content of the characteristics of TCM in the instruction. Conclusion Currently, there is an insufficient amount of policy documents on CPM standards, which are overly focused on environment-based policy tools and the policy implementation process. To achieve the policy goal of regulating and applying CPM specifications, it is recommended to create a balanced and coordinated structure of policy instruments, emphasise the direct promotion and pulling effect of supply and demand, increase the weight of policy evaluation and supervision, and develop a standard system for evaluating CPM specifications.
ObjectiveTo analyse the quality of implementation in clinical application guidelines of the Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of common diseases. MethodsWe retrieved clinical application guidelines of the Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of common diseases published from February, 2019 to August, 2022 in databases. The clinical practice guideline (CPG) implementation evaluation tool was used to evaluate the implementation of the included guidelines. ResultsA total of 29 guidelines were included. The implementation quality of included guidelines was moderate. Thirteen (44.8%) were high quality and 16 (55.2%) were moderate quality. ConclusionThe quality of implementation of clinical application guidelines of the Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of common diseases is higher than that of other traditional Chinese medicine CPG. The CPG implementation evaluation tool can be used in traditional Chinese medicine CPGs and particularity of TCM should also be considered.
The preferred reporting items for comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine (PRICE-CPM) were developed, and comprised six domains, 21 items and 72 sub-items. The EQUATOR collaboration network for the formulation and revision of reporting specifications was referred to and the final report list items were established by adopting the literature analysis method, the expert committee discussion and the Delphi method, and considering the characteristics of CPM evaluation.
ObjectiveTo explore the early outcomes of the surgical treatment for patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) combined with intracardiac abnormities via right vertical infra-axillary thoracotomy (RVIAT).MethodsA total of 7 children with PDA combined with intracardiac defects underwent surgery through RVIAT at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from 2016 to 2018. There were 4 males and 3 females, with an average age of 5.3±4.5 years and weight of 18.0±11.2 kg.ResultsIn all patients, PDA was ligated before the repair of intracardiac abnormities. No patient died in hospital. All patients were followed up, with a mean follow-up time of 18.0±8.0 months. No other complications such as residual shunts, arrhythmias, hemorrhaging or wound infection occurred after operations or during the follow-up period.ConclusionRVIAT is an emerging technique used for the surgical repair of PDA combined with intracardiac defects. It yields satisfying cosmetic results, without increasing postoperative complications or mortality.
A comprehensive evaluation system of Chinese patent medicine (CPM) is considered as a critical tool to measure the value of CPM. The "guideline for multi-dimensional and multi-criteria comprehensive evaluation for Chinese patent medicine" (abbreviated as guideline) has been released, proposing a comprehensive evaluation system of CPM (1st) comprising six aspects: safety, effectiveness, economy, applicability, scientificity and standardization. This paper elaborated the development method and explained the evaluation dimensions and criteria, so as to help the researchers understand and use the comprehensive evaluation system in the future when evaluating CPM.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the studies on the clinical comprehensive evaluation system of drugs at home and abroad. MethodsThe PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP and CBM databases were electronically searched to collect the literature and policy documents of the clinical comprehensive evaluation system of drugs from inception to October 31, 2022. The evaluation organization, evaluation perspective, application scope, domains and criteria were sorted out, and the evaluation of different types of drugs was analyzed in detail. ResultsA total of 101 clinical comprehensive evaluation systems of drugs were included. The publishing time was from 2009 to 2022, and the number of published articles increased. The first author mainly came from 26 countries, including China (n=34), Canada (n=11), the United States (n=10), and Spain (n=10). Forty-seven articles reported the evaluation perspective. All evaluation systems could be used for drug evaluation, of which 43 could be used as universal evaluation tools, and 58 could be used for the evaluation of specific drugs, mainly including anti-tumor drugs (n=15), orphan drugs (n=10) and traditional Chinese medicine (n=7). The number of evaluation domains varied from 2 to 22, and the number of criteria varied from 4 to 56. Among them, economics (n=73), effectiveness (n=72), safety (n=54), disease demand/burden (n=34), and innovation (n=24) were the most frequent evaluation domains. ConclusionThe research on clinical comprehensive evaluation of drugs at home and abroad has grown up. During the implementation of clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine, it is necessary to clarify the evaluation perspective, define the evaluation scope, and determine the evaluation domains.
The number of clinical practice guidelines for traditional Chinese patent medicine has been increasing recently. However, the quality of guidelines was still low compared to international guidelines. Considering the characteristics of traditional Chinese patent medicine, we suggested the following items should be taken into account when developing traditional Chinese patent medicine guidelines: ensuring the standardized guidelines of traditional Chinese patent medicine research problem is scientific based on reliable evidence; identifying the common questions according to these research problems; understanding the strength of evidence and how to recommend correctly; inviting some experts in other fields to take part in the development of guidelines; paying more attention on the changes of disease burden and the impact of new methods and technologies when developing the guideline; paying more attention to the non-consensus opinions and evidence supporting these opinions; insisting on quality is the priority, while speed is secondary.
The emergence of new-generation artificial intelligence technology has brought numerous innovations to the healthcare field, including telemedicine and intelligent care. However, the artificial intelligent medical device sector still faces significant challenges, such as data privacy protection and algorithm reliability. This study, based on invention patent analysis, revealed the technological innovation trends in the field of artificial intelligent medical devices from aspects such as patent application time trends, hot topics, regional distribution, and innovation players. The results showed that global invention patent applications had remained active, with technological innovations primarily focused on medical image processing, physiological signal processing, surgical robots, brain-computer interfaces, and intelligent physiological parameter monitoring technologies. The United States and China led the world in the number of invention patent applications. Major international medical device giants, such as Philips, Siemens, General Electric, and Medtronic, were at the forefront of global technological innovation, with significant advantages in patent application volumes and international market presence. Chinese universities and research institutes, such as Zhejiang University, Tianjin University, and the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, had demonstrated notable technological innovation, with a relatively high number of patent applications. However, their overseas market expansion remained limited. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the technological innovation trends in the artificial intelligent medical device field and offers valuable information support for industry development from an informatics perspective.
ObjectiveTo construct the comprehensive evaluation indicator system of Chinese patent medicines for ischemic stroke, to determine the weight of indicators, and to provide references for the comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy, safety, and economy of Chinese patent medicines.MethodsTwo rounds of expert consultation by Delphi method were applied to establish the comprehensive evaluation indicator system of Chinese patent medicines for ischemic stroke, and the weight of each indicator was determined by the analytic hierarchy process method.ResultsQuestionnaire recovery rates of 2 rounds were 92.59% and 96.00%, the expert authority coefficient was greater than 0.7, and the coordination coefficients of experts in the total index were 0.224 and 0.370 (P<0.001). A three-level comprehensive evaluation indicator system for Chinese patent medicines for ischemic stroke was established and the three first-level indicators included efficacy, safety, and economy. And there were 15 second-level indicators, and 33 third-level indicators. Through the analytic hierarchy process method, the weights of each first-level indicator were 0.626 4, 0.301 2, and 0.072 4, respectively.ConclusionThe comprehensive evaluation indicator system contains efficacy, safety and economy, and provides a basis for a comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicines for ischemic stroke. The indicator system is of great significance for the design of outcomes for clinical trials of ischemic stroke, the conduction of systematic reviews, and the development of clinical practice guidelines for ischemic stroke patients when selecting study outcomes.
ObjectiveTo propose policy recommendations for improvement of the affordability of high cost medicines with significant public health implications under the patent system in China.
MethodsThrough literature analysis and market investigation, this study targeted expensive life saving medicines under the patent protection, which are critical for the treatment of eight diseases with the most significant disease burden and critical social, economic and political impact for case studies, estimated the individual and insurance direct economic burden of medicines treatment.
ResultsChemical product patent protection enhanced medicines price monopoly. The targeted medicines brought huge financial burden to Chinese citizens, especially to the rural residents. Breaking chemical product patent protection, achieving parallel importation or making generic drugs enter into the China's market, can save huge amount of medicines procurement budget for the government, and benefit the general public.
ConclusionDeveloping and implementing medicines registration and intellectual property right protection strategies with public health perspective, adding continuously improved basic health insurance programs, can effectively promote the affordability of high cost medicines with significant public health, social, political and economic implications.
