Li Bin, minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, introduced  developments in medical reform on March 5. 

Medical reform fulfills the 2011-2015 tasks

Li Bin said that Premier Li Keqiang's report summed up the work and achievements in social and economic development during the 2011-2015 period. The report also set goals for the 2016-2020 period. Those goals are practical and we need to earnestly carry them out, Li said. 

Li said that medical and health development had met its goals for the past five years. Average public life expectancy surpassed 76 years, individual health costs accounted for less than 30 percent, and major public health indicators matched medium and high-income countries for the first time in twenty years. 

Spare no efforts to solve problems

In addition to the achievements in medical reform, Li also talked about the problems. 

She said that social development has made the public pay more attention to health. We are now dealing with population aging and a changing spectrum of diseases, as well as new expectations and requirements. There are still many problems to solve in the 2016-2020 period, Li said. 

Build a healthy China

All personnel are now working to compile and carry out the 2030 healthy China plan, the 2016-2020 sanitation and health plan and the 2016-2020 plan on medical reform, Li said. Accelerated reforms will help develop a mature basic health care system with Chinese characteristics. Reform will also improve universal medical security and establish a tiered system of medical care. Equal access to essential health services should be ensured. 

Keep medical staff on grassroots level

Capacity building at the grassroots level is a key issue in medical reform. Li said that, after a NPC member observed hiring problems last year, efforts were made immediately to improve the mechanism. In doing so, medical staff get  good career prospects at the grassroots level, and their incomes increase too. 

The internet has connected big hospitals with community facilities, Li said. During her study in Hebei province’s Tangxian county, she found that local patients could have face-to-face communications with experts from the PLA General Hospital through telemedicine. The experts helped diagnose the patient and offered suggestions to local doctors. In this way, the patient’s problem was solved without travelling all the way to Beijing. 

Multiple measures to make appointments easier

Ticket scalpers are a persistent headache to the public and medical system, as revealed by a recent viral video. Li said that she would thank that girl first. Her reaction pushed forward the solution of this problem, which is actually caused by structural contradictions. Mixed measures should be taken, Li said: On one hand, the NHFPC will work with public security organs to crack down on scalpers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. At the same time, work should be done to speed up information networking and implement a real-name system. 

The country should establish a tiered system of medical care. Appointment-based and expert group diagnosis and treatment should be increased. Experts should go down to the communities. Some hospitals have taken active measures to reform  medical service. Li says we can solve this persistent problem through sustainable efforts. 

Li added that telemedicine is an important approach to easing the difficulties of getting a doctor’s appointment. At the same time, internet plus medical service should be utilized to magnify resources. Multiple measures should be taken to improve disease prevention and treatment.