The State Council general office issued a document on May 8 aimed at promoting the comprehensive reform of public hospitals - including TCM hospitals - at the county level.

The document gave details of the reform’s main goals:

By the end of this year, the authorities should focus on key aspects, such as administration and operation systems - and adjusting service prices, salaries of personnel and the medical insurance payment system.

By 2017, a modern hospital administration system should be established and the health care services at the county level should show improvement.

The document includes details concerning the requirement that the authorities should focus on the following issues related to hospitals at the county level:

- optimize the medical resources distribution of hospitals;

- reform the administration system;

- establish a new operation mechanism for public hospitals;

- improve the medicine supply mechanism;

- reform the medical insurance payment pattern;

- set up a personnel and salary system specifically suited to health care professionals;

- improve the service capacity of public hospitals;

- strengthen service supervision;

- and enhance leadership and implementation of the reform.

The document also requests that the authorities should strengthen links between higher level and lower level hospitals.