The National Health Commission and the National Administration of Traditional
Chinese Medicine have revised the 2018 Procedures for Drafting the Rare Disease
Catalogue and issued a 2026 edition to strengthen rare-disease management and
improve the catalogue's scientific basis while enhancing diagnosis, treatment
and patient support. Major changes: expanded criteria for inclusion and broader
disease coverage; additional eligible applicants for proposing catalogue entries
to involve relevant professional bodies; the National Administration of
Traditional Chinese Medicine added as a co-issuing agency, with clarified TCM
responsibilities and an emphasis on TCM–Western medicine coordination in
rare-disease prevention and treatment; optimization of the drafting cycle to
enable timely updates in practice; and explicit guidance that the catalogue is
for reference use by relevant departments.
