Lei Haichao, Director of China’s National Health Commission (NHC), has outlined a comprehensive reform agenda for the country’s medical and health system in an article on qstheory.cn, a key party news platform. The reform blueprint emphasizes a triad approach, focusing on the harmonized development and governance of healthcare services, medical insurance, and the pharmaceutical sector. Key initiatives include accelerating the construction of a tiered diagnosis and treatment system, fortifying public health infrastructure, and enhancing a unified disease prevention and control mechanism that integrates civilian and military, inter-departmental, and regional coordination.
The reform also targets public hospital reform with a public welfare orientation, implementing the ‘two allowances’ policy to incentivize medical personnel and address corruption within the system. There is a strong push for medical innovation, aiming to translate research breakthroughs in drugs, vaccines, and medical devices into clinical applications. The integration of AI and internet technologies in healthcare is also highlighted.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is set to receive a significant boost, with the government committing to mechanisms that support the inheritance, innovation, and development of TCM. This includes specialized capability building, optimized pricing and payment policies for TCM services, and the ‘New Era Shennong Tasting Hundred Herbs’ project.
On August 30th, the NHC held a press conference to discuss the Sanming medical reform model, advocating for its nationwide adoption. Zhang Yuanming, Deputy Mayor of Sanming City, Fujian Province, detailed Sanming’s three-pronged reform strategy:
- Advancing from ‘medical community’ to ‘health community’, shifting the focus from medical care management to health management, and ensuring the availability of drugs at the grassroots level.
- Enhancing the standardized construction of health and disease management professionals and centers.
- Establishing a ‘six disease co-management’ system for major conditions like tumors and cardiovascular diseases.
Yang Jianli, Director of the NHC’s Department of System Reform, outlined the nationwide rollout of Sanming’s medical reform experience, including dedicated personnel training, policy alignment across departments, and the use of information technology to empower healthcare reform. The plan involves collaborative efforts between 11 provinces, the establishment of demonstration cities and pilot hospitals for public hospital reform, and a goal to fully implement the Sanming model within five years. – Flcube.com
