From Scratch to Excellence: China Releases First National Standard for Medical Insurance Convenience Services
Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation (Standardization Administration of China) released the Technical Specifications for Public Convenience Services on the Medical Security Information Platform (GB/T 45938—2025). Developed under the auspices of the National Healthcare Security Administration, this standard is China’s first national standard in the field of medical security, marking a milestone breakthrough in the standardization of China’s medical insurance system. The standard will come into effect on January 1, 2026.
“Technical Specifications for Public-Facing Services on the Medical Security Information Platform” was developed based on prior engineering practices of the medical security information platform. Its core technical requirements have been widely implemented across China, with their scientific rigor, practicality, and universal applicability thoroughly validated. This standard is applicable to cooperating institutions, including designated medical and pharmaceutical institutions, cooperative financial institutions, third-party payment providers, government administrative service departments, and other entities. It specifies the access methods, functional requirements, performance criteria, and security requirements for public-facing services on the medical security information platform, such as the Medical Insurance Code (Electronic Medical Insurance Certificate), mobile medical insurance payments, electronic medical insurance prescriptions, and authorized queries of personal medical insurance information.
As of July 2025, across China, the Medical Insurance Code (Electronic Medical Insurance Certificate) has been integrated with over 930,000 designated medical and pharmaceutical institutions, connected to more than 240 code-display partnership channels, and processed a cumulative total of 12 billion transactions. Mobile payment for medical insurance has been adopted by 47,000 institutions, while electronic medical insurance prescriptions have been implemented in over 350,000 institutions, with more than 63 million prescriptions issued cumulatively. The development of user-friendly services on the Medical Security Information Platform epitomizes the advancement of medical insurance informatization. Over six years, the system has evolved from scratch to maturity, undergoing continuous upgrades. At designated medical and pharmaceutical institutions integrated with the platform’s user-friendly services, the public can easily handle the entire spectrum of medical and pharmaceutical processes—including registration, consultations, examinations and laboratory tests, report printing, medication dispensing, hospitalization admission, electronic prescription circulation, and medical insurance settlement—simply by using their smartphones or facial recognition. A medical insurance convenience service system characterized by 24/7 online availability, diversified channels, and nationwide accessibility has taken shape, providing convenient medical insurance services to the vast majority of insured individuals.
Next, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Healthcare Security Administration will jointly promote the publicity, implementation, and widespread adoption of these standards. By leveraging standards to guide the development of efficient and convenient medical insurance services, they aim to tangibly enhance the public’s sense of gain, happiness, and security in healthcare coverage.
Attachment: "Technical Specifications for Public Services of the Medical Security Information Platform" (GB/T 45938—2025)
