The 2015 national medical administrative work conference was held in Beijing on January 29. The event summarized the previous year’s work and made a deployment on national health work in 2015. Ma Xiaowei, vice-minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) attended the conference and delivered a speech.

Ma said that in the past year, the Chinese government had paid great attention to health work. President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and Vice-premier Liu Yandong, gave instructions regarding deepening healthcare reforms, improving the overall health of the people and improving the health service in order to further harmonize the doctor-patient relationship. The national medical and health system has undergone efforts to upgrade the comprehensive capability of county-level hospitals, explore new modes of diagnosis grading, set up improved emergency aid systems for diseases, build harmonious doctor-patient relationships and upgrade the health service quality.

Ma stressed that the opportunities and challenges faced in the medical sector are coexisting. According to the 2015 health and family planning working plan, health and medical administration affects millions of patients , which is crucial to deepening the healthcare reform and implementing the key tasks of health and family planning. Health and family planning commissions at all levels have been advised to ensure efforts in fulfilling the tasks as follows:

Firstly, the sector was advised to take efforts in improving the overall health service. This not only includes the key task of deepening healthcare reforms but is also an embodiment of healthcare being a service for people, according to the meeting.

Secondly, it should push forward with grading, diagnosis and treatment; encourage patients with minor illnesses to go to community hospitals, whilst ensuring seriously sick patients go to large hospitals. This should be done in order to alleviate the problem of overcrowding in large hospitals, the commission stressed.