The Ministry of Health is preparing to issue the first rules regulating facilities that provide health exams.

Health experts and officials held discussions yesterday in Shanghai on a proposed draft on staff qualifications and management of health examination facilities. They said they expect the regulations to be issued later this year.

Currently, they said, no such regulations exist in China.

"Health examination facilities practice medicine, and that must be in line with the nation's relevant laws and regulations," said Hu Bo from Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

"Moreover, such facilities must have their own service area, equipment and staff to avoid infection."

The Chinese Medical Doctor Association has been charged with gathering comments and related research, to forward to the ministry by August.

Experts said there are many unlicensed teams consisting of retired doctors, nurses and non medical professionals visiting businesses and farms to provide health examinations.

Among the issues the rule drafters are considering are quality of the examination, radiation and infection control and medical waste disposal.

The rules will also ban facilities from providing medical treatment or selling medicines and tonics.

The rules will have higher standards for advanced examination centers compared to more basic checkup stations.

(Shanghai Daily April 29, 2006)