In June 21-22, Dr. Fiona Godlee along with seven of her colleagues at The BMJ visited Peking University Health Science Center (PUHSC). Dr. Godlee is the Editor in Chief of the journal and Editorial Director and Editor in Chief of BMJ Publishing Group Limited. The delegation was received by PKUHSC President Zhan Qimin and the two sides held talks on expanding their cooperation.

After the meeting, the delegation moved to the PUHSC Center for International Cooperation & Exchange, where Dr. Godlee gave a speech titled “Too Much Medicine, Too Little Medicine”. In the speech, she reviewed the prevalence rates of non-communicable diseases in China and the US, the prescriptions for these diseases, and the health expenditures that result, pointing to the challenge that overdiagnosis and overtreatment posed. She elaborated on the scope, cause, and possible solutions of this issue.

Dr. Godlee and colleagues then joined President Zhan in the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between BMJ Publishing Group Limited and the PUHSC. In his remarks, President Zhan said students, researchers and faculty members at the PUHSC had published since 1984 nearly 300 articles with the group. He reviewed a number of milestones in the cooperation between the two sides, including the 2007 agreement on national digital databank program and the 2018 joint training program for community/rural general practitioners. He referred to the current MoU as a new milestone, and said close cooperation between the two sides would contribute to the health of the Chinese people as well as people around the world.

    During her visit, Dr. Godlee also attended the launching of The BMJ China collection and the seminar that followed.