A Beijing foundation that gave financial support to the compilation of a book on the use of traditional Chinese medicine is distributing 650,000 copies of it to healthcare centers in villages throughout China.

The Huimin Foundation, a private group that concentrates on providing public health services, paid experts in Chinese medicine to compile a book in which they placed traditional Chinese medicines into categories according to their use in treating more than 120 diseases. They also included information about dosages and when the use of a particular treatment is inadvisable.

About 650,000 rural healthcare centers will receive the book for free, said Zhang Boli, president of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and chief compiler of the book.

"Many grassroots medical workers and doctors majoring in modern medicines haven't systematically learned how to use traditional Chinese medicines, while about 70 percent of traditional Chinese-medicine prescriptions are given out by doctors majoring in modern medicines," he said. "As a result, it is very important to let them know how to use traditional Chinese medicines."

To make the book more readable, Zhang said, the compilers ensured it was written in plain language and worked to put medicines in categories according to their use in treating diseases recognized by modern medicine, such as respiratory or digestive diseases.

Unlike in professional textbooks on traditional Chinese medicine, the language in this one "is modern Chinese. Its main purpose is to teach people how to properly use traditional Chinese medicines", he said.

"Only in China can modern medical doctors prescribe traditional Chinese medicines," said Hui Lusheng, head of the Huiming Foundation. "A lack of knowledge can often lead to an incorrect prescription.

"Last June, we had already given 50,000 copies to about 40,000 doctors who practice modern medicine in Beijing. This time we plan to send one copy to each of the 650,000 healthcare centers in Chinese villages."

Wang Guoqiang, head of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, believes the plan will help overcome difficulties involved with Chinese medicines.

"The development of traditional Chinese medicines, especially those from grassroots healthcare providers, is still difficult," he said. "There is a lack of medical workers who are proficient in using them."