Professional Codes versus External Enforcement: Chinese and Australian Norm-Setting in Pharmaceutical Ethics Compared

Abstract

This paper examines how norms are introduced and implemented in the production and trade of medicines in China and Australia. Through a discussion of the status of the pharmaceutical profession in these two countries, it argues that in China the propagation of professional standards and the control over their implementation are exclusively a matter for external sanctions, while in Australia the validity of a pharmacists’ professional code reduces the need for external supervision. The paper further investigates the systemic and institutional reasons for this difference.
Key words: Professional codes; Ethics; Pharmacists; Medicines