Chinese Drug Sales, Health Care Prices

klThe People's Bank of China says that drug sales in urban areas of Chinagrew substantially in 1996, linked to a sharp rise in consumer purchasing power, reports the China Daily Business Weekly. Brand-name drugs are showing the biggest increases, it says.

China's State Statistical Information and Consultancy Service says retail prices of health care in China in January (the most recent data available) was 6.7% higher than in January 1996, the journal also reports. This increase in price was higher than the 3.3% increase in the national inflation rate over the period.

- At end-1996 there were 189,000 health care institutions with 3.1 million beds in China, reports the State Statistical Bureau. The number of health care workers totaled 4.3 million, up 1.3% on 1995, including 1.3 million doctors, an increase of 6%.