China's health authority has responded to public comments online about the number of family doctors on Dec 20, saying that a family doctor is not the same as a private doctor, reports Chinanews.com.

The public: Do we really have 'family doctors'?

On Dec 17, Xinhua reported that "By the end of November, over 95 percent of Chinese cities had launched a program to provide family doctors, and that more than 500 million people had entered into a contract with a family doctor, accounting for over 35 percent of the population."

These figures have aroused heated discussion online. Many people have expressed suspicions as to the reliability of the numbers, saying that they still need to register at a hospital to see a doctor, and that they have never had a doctor visit them at home.

Health authority: A family doctor is not a private doctor

An official from the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) has responded to the questions from the public, explaining that the concept of a "family doctor" needs to be differentiated from that of a "private doctor".

The official said 500 million residents have signed contracts with local family doctors as part of a nationwide medical program initiated in 2016.

According to the official definition, family doctors mainly consist of "registered general practitioners with community-level medical institutes, doctors working in health clinics in townships, and rural doctors."

Family doctors are responsible for providing basic health and medical services that focus on disease prevention.

Family doctors also take responsibility for collecting health statistics, supervising patients with chronic health conditions, providing check-ups, and arranging appointments with specialists.

By contrast, a private doctor provides privileged medical services to a small number of people, with patients often paying a high price to see a practitioner.

"The family doctor service program is currently targeted at the people with the most need, such as the elderly, pregnant women, children, people with a disability or a chronic health condition, and impoverished people," said a staff member with NHFPC. They said that the program aims to cover more people in the future.