KANGDING: With more than 20 percent of its population over 60 years old and the public increasingly focused on health, China is committed to a “health first strategy” that emphasizes disease prevention and health management.
With solid advances in healthcare, the country is moving from primarily treating disease to maintaining overall health.
He noted that in an aging society, demands for medical services are increasingly moving towards high-quality health management, chronic disease management and long-term care.
Liu said that China’s medical management services still have room for improvement.
To ensure the overall health of its vast population, the country needs to strengthen “capacity for disease monitoring and early warning, risk assessment, epidemiological investigation, testing and inspection, emergency response and medical treatment,” according to the resolution.
In recent years, the government and medical institutions have made significant progress in these areas, especially in the fight against chronic diseases and prevention of epidemics.
Action plans have been issued to prevent and control the four major chronic diseases that account for more than 80 percent of deaths in the country. These plans suggest measures such as increasing early awareness among diabetes patients to prevent disease progression and increasing screening capacity for chronic respiratory diseases.
China offers early screening services for many prevalent cancers, covering most of the top 10 cancer types. Almost 200 million women have benefited from cervical and breast cancer screening.
Regarding epidemics, China has implemented a direct reporting system covering approximately 84,000 medical facilities. Health authorities have pledged efforts to modernize the system to strengthen its risk monitoring capabilities.
China is also working to expand coverage of family doctor services and long-term care insurance systems to provide home care for its people.
Promoting public health requires the joint efforts of various ministries and requires “coordinated development and management of medical services, health insurance and pharmaceuticals,” as the resolution points out.
This approach is derived from the successful experience of medical reform in Sanming City, East China’s Fujian Province, which has been promoted nationwide.
Zhan Jifu, the former head of the Fujian Provincial Health Security Bureau who spearheaded medical reform in Sanming, believes the collaboration helps guide medical practices to better meet the public’s demand for a healthier life.
Liu said the reform of health insurance systems must go hand in hand with the reform of medical services.
China deepens medical reform through ‘health-first strategy’
