Neurosurgery for Psychiatric Disorders in the People's Republic of China-Responsibilities of International Societies

摘要

The Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China issued in April 2008 the regulation "Notification Regarding Improvement of Management and Related Issues in Neurosurgery for Psychiatric Disorders from General Office of Ministry of Health," in order to ensure medical health care quality and to protect people's safety. This notification consists of three major regulations: specific requirements for hospitals to perform neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders, rigorously defined indication for neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders, and improved management of clinical research in neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders. The development of this notification is undoubtedly a step forward in neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders in China. However, it was only published in Chinese to our knowledge, and therefore remained incomprehensible to non-Chinese-speaking communities. Today an English version of this notification, translated by one of the authors, sheds a light on the perspective of the Chinese government on neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders. Moreover, the authors emphasize the important role of guidelines, endorsed by world societies involved in neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders, to guide the future of this field in the right direction.