A: By end of 1998 Tibet had 17 independent institutes of Tibetan medicine. In the counties without hospital of Tibetan medicine, the departments of Tibetan medicine have been set up in the county hospitals, and the total number of hospital beds for Tibetan medicine amounted to 587.
Education of Tibetan medicine started from scratch and has born rich fruits, as illustrated by the establishment of the School of Tibetan Medicine of Tibet Autonomous Region, the Department of Tibetan Medicine of Tibet University and the Insitute of Tibetan Medicine. The Department of Tibetan Medicine has sent a large number of graduates to various areas of Tibet and other provinces including Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.
Scientific research into Tibetan medicine has also undergone remarkable progress. Besides the Four Medical Classics, 32 works, monographs and documents on Tibetan medicine have been compiled and Published. A total of 28 research topics have been designated as projects above provincial level, of which 13 have won scientific and technological advancement prizes above provincial level. Zuotai, a Tibetan medicine, has been awarded the patent certificate of the state, 14 patent Tibetan drugs are listed in the China Pharmacopoeia, and 41 Tibetan medicinal materials and 97 patent Tibetan drugs have been nominated by the state as protected items of traditional Chinese medicine.
Great achievements have also been made in research and development of patent Tibetan drugs. Four new Tibetan drugs produced by the Tibet Pharmaceutical Plant have won state new medicine certificate. There are 22 Tibetan pharmaccutical plants in the region, with an annual output value of over 200 million yuan, generating more than 20 million yuan in state revenue annually. These plants meet the market demand for Tibetan medicines not only in Tibet Autonomous Region, but also in other provinces such as Yunnan, Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan. Outlets for sales of rare Tibetan medicines have been set up in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions throughout China, supplying medicines for 600 hospitals in the Chinese interior. Several brands of drugs are exported. |
