INFORM January 2024

inform January 2024, Vol. 35 (1) • 13

IMPLEMENTATION METHODS The Chinese government developed and refined the regula tory framework for retail pharmacy sales of FSMP over many years. Presently, the distribution of FSMP in China happens through both in-hospital and external channels. Within the hospital premises, FSMP are retailed through on-site pharma cies, often affiliated with chain drugstores. Hospitals procure these products through bidding and purchasing mechanisms, typically upon recommendations or prescriptions from clinical nutritionists. FSMP are also available externally through vari ous outlets such as pharmacies, supermarkets, and maternity stores. Another approach to FSMP distribution involves collabo rative ventures between distribution enterprises or manufac turers and medical institutions, sometimes engaging all three parties. These collaborations leverage the financial strengths of distribution enterprises or manufacturers and aim to cre Food is Medicine in the US In the past five years, a ‘food is medicine’ movement has taken hold in the US. Some of that attention can be cred ited to research conducted by Seth Berkowitz, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Berkowitz and his team conducted two studies on medically tailored meals, designed by dieticians for spe cific conditions. The first study, published in 2018, showed that when 100 patients participating in government healthcare pro grams received medically tailored meals, they visited the emergency room 70% fewer times and were admit ted to the hospital 52% less often. A follow-up study in 2019, involved around 1000 adults, half received medi cally tailored meals. When their admission rates to med ical facilities were compared to the half that did not receive meals, there was a similar decrease in admis sions as that seen in the smaller study ( https://doi. org/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0999, https://doi.org/10.1001/ jamainternmed.2019.0198). These positive findings have sparked interest in fur ther research and the establishment of organizations ded icated to ‘food is medicine’ becoming a standard of care in the US. The current administration allocated $2 million in funding last year for a pilot program and the National Institute of Health dedicated grant money for develop ing centers of excellence where researchers will study implementation. However, before food is medicine becomes a norm, its advocates will have to navigate a few barriers. First, there are federal laws that require a waiver if a Medicaid program wants to offer any food interventions. Then, there is the fact that employer-provided coverage is sparce when it comes to medically tailored meals.

ate holistic solutions that encompass science, nutrition, and health. FSMP CASE STUDIES Chinese researchers have predominantly concentrated their efforts on developing disease-specific FSMP, notably for con ditions like diabetes, respiratory disorders, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Products meant to treat these ailments have successfully entered the domestic market. Diabetes, a prevalent metabolic disorder characterized by elevated blood glucose levels, has been a prominent area of research. For instance, Bao-quan Jiang, professor of Nutrition and Food Hygiene at the Third Military Medical University, used biotechnological fermentation to create a special ized medical yogurt designed to protect pancreatic function, improve sugar metabolism, and lower blood glucose and lip “If we don’t figure this out, our health-care costs are going to continue to skyrocket and we will continue to have some of the worst heart attacks, mortality rates and obesity rates in the world,” said Mitchell Elkind, the American Heart Association’s chief clinical science offi cer and a professor of neurology and epidemiology at Columbia University, in an interview with the Washington Post, last summer. “We have to be better on this.”