BEIJING — Licensed hospitals, doctors and nurses in China will be able to use a digital license in their practices which can be kept and transmitted via digital devices, China's health authority said on July 22.

A circular published by the National Health Commission at its website said relevant authorities will promote the use of digital licenses for medical institutions and staff nationwide to improve the efficiency of medical resources and health sector management.

Relevant work will get started next month and eligible people and organizations can get their digital licenses by the end of this year, the circular said.

The digital licenses will contain the holders' information about their practice registrations, having equal effects with the hard copies, it said.

China now is using a digital system to keep the registration information of licensed medical institutions and personnel. The issuing of digital licenses is a development of the system, and the management of these licenses will be connected with the management of the registrations, according to the circular.

Eligible hospitals and staff can apply for digital licenses via their terminal devices.