On 17th October, the inaugural general assembly of the IATB's expert committee (the Physicians' Group) was successfully held in Jinan, Shandong. 23 members of the committee attended the meeting with Mr. Liu Jincheng, former director of the Shanxi Tuberculosis Hospital acting as moderator. The meeting was also attended by the chairman of IATB, Dr. Li Liang, deputy director of the Beijing Chest Hospital, chair of the Chinese TB Society, CMA.

Dr. Li Liang delivered the opening remarks, in which he expressed gratitude to the support generously given to the IATB by all the experts, especially in terms of the construction of the "Internet Hospital." Dr. Li continued by asking all members of the expert committee for their continuous support to the various under-takings of the IATB in the coming years.

Following Dr. Li's speech, Dr. Liu Zhimin, deputy chair of the IATB, also chair of the expert committee delivered the 2019 Working Report, Dr. Liu pointed out that the expert committee is a consultancy led by the IATB, its founding purpose is to serve the interests of all IATB members and China's TB control network in general. The expert committee's role is to be consulted not decision-making, a participant who is always willing to extend a helping hand by giving out well-informed and prudent advises. The meeting also saw other members deliberating on the following matters, namely the organizational structure of the committee, its rules and regulations, its role in the internet hospital, among other academic activities.

Upon closing, deputy chair of the expert committee, Dr. Tan Shouyong said that generous support provided by all the experts is indispensable to the fast and healthy development of the IATB. Dr. Tan hoped that the IATB will enjoy much more success into the future, especially in terms of construction of the "Internet+TB Control" model.