Health and family planning successes in 2014 and major tasks for 2015

(en.nhfpc.gov.cn)

Updated: 2015-02-12

Health and family planning successes in 2014 and major tasks for 2015

National Health and Family Planning Commission

Feb 6, 2015

Health and family planning work improvements

Healthcare reforms and progress in key areas

I. Progress in public hospital reforms

There were trial reforms in 1,363 counties at the State and provincial level, with more than 2,400 county-level public hospitals getting rid of the method where hospital revenues and staff income were closely tied to drug prescriptions, and where drugs were sold at higher prices than wholesale and medical costs were adjusted. Governments at varied levels increased their input in new operations and the outpatient rate was up to 85 percent or higher in pilot counties and 63 national and provincial pilot cities joined the urban public hospital reforms. The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) used Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian and Qinghai provinces for a comprehensive reform study.

II. Universal healthcare system improves

Subsidies for medical insurance for farmers in the new rural cooperative medical program and urbanites has risen to 320 yuan ($51) per person, while reimbursements for outpatient services have stayed above 50 percent and for hospitalization above 75 percent in the new rural cooperative medical program. All provinces have a trial insurance program for serious illnesses and there is an emergency illness system that has already benefitted 330,000 people.

III. Medical system and community service networks improve

There are guaranteed supplies of commonly used low-cost drugs and children’s drugs in place and designated production sites for producing seven types of drugs and community healthcare reforms done in 34 counties across 17 provinces. Basic public health services are up to 35 yuan ($5.60) per person.

IV. Important breakthroughs in professionals

The NHFPC has worked with various departments to draw up an Increased Clinical Medicine Professional Reform via Medical Education paper and has chosen 559 training institutes for participation. The central finance dept has put 1.5 billion yuan into the training of 50,000 resident doctors and has waived tuition for at least 5,600 medical students in exchange for future service in rural areas, and for service as GPs at the community level after schooling.

V. Health service industry

There were 12,000 private hospitals by the end of 2014, with a service increase of 13.4 percent year-on-year. Suggestions on standardizing multi-hospital practice have been considered and nearly 170,000 urban doctors have practices at the county and village level.

VI. More orderly

The authorities have cracked down on crimes against doctors and hospitals in accordance with China’s laws and regulations and they have tried hard to develop a method where disputes between patients and hospitals can be resolved more smoothly. Crimes against doctors were down 10.6 percent year-on-year by the end of November 2014 and medical disputes were down 18 percent, with more than 85 percent of them resolved through mediation, leading to improved order in the medical field.

Family planning

Two-child policy running smoothly There are now guidelines on family planning work at the community level and the family planning network and teams have been improved, with the two-child policy firmly in place nationwide, and nearly 1 million qualified couples applying to have a second child.

Public health and medical services improve

1. Great strides in work against major outbreaks, such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever Joint prevention and control methods have been used to the fullest to help Africa fight the epidemic and precautions have been taken to protect China from Ebola, and around 750-million-yuan worth of assistance given to West African countries. In addition, more than 600 Chinese medical personnel and public health experts have been sent to fight Ebola in West Africa, with some significant achievements seen in virus detection, patient observation and treatment, and epidemic prevention training at a mobile laboratory in Sierra Leone and treatment center in Liberia. 2. Public health and major disease prevention and control improvements China has HIV/AIDS comprehensive prevention and control demonstration areas covering nearly 300 million people and an immunity vaccination rate for children above 90 percent nationwide. There are also 265 comprehensive chronic disease prevention and control demonstration sites and a rural sanitary toilet popularization rate reaching 74 percent. 3. Medical service quality improves A total of 1,640 tertiary hospitals nationwide with assistance arrangements with 3,758 county-level hospitals and 26,000 doctors at county-level hospitals have received further training from higher-level hospitals, and 560,000 rural health workers have received further training. There are also 3,644 health institutes in villages and towns that have received the necessary assistance. 4. Maternal and child health service improvements More than six million rural women have received cervical and breast cancer checks and more than 11 million rural couples have received free eugenics health exams before childbirth, while 8.6 million pregnant rural women have received subsidies for hospitalization costs. And 820,000 infants in poorer counties have received free nutrition packages.

Coordinating and planning programs In this area, there have been improvements in the following: first, in legislative progress; second, in spending on health and family planning; third, in developing information networks for greater information sharing; fourth, in scientific and technological innovations; fifth, in increased professionalism; sixth, in international exchanges and cooperation; and, seventh, in traditional Chinese medicine improvements.