Four Key Pillars of China's National Health Commission Electronic Registration System for Medical Institutions, Physicians, and Nurses

On April 26, VCBeat learned that the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly promulgated the “Guiding Opinions of the State Council on Accelerating the Promotion of ‘Internet + Government Services’” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”), aiming to accelerate the formation of a diversified medical service landscape, continuously increase the supply of medical service resources, and unleash their potential.

By June 2018, all provinces had established local electronic registration systems that were interconnected with the national electronic registration system, thereby achieving electronic management of the registration of medical institutions, physicians, and nurses.

By 2020, fully implement electronic registration management.Basically complete the issuance and use of electronic certificates, achieve the goal of convenient and efficient administrative approval services, dynamic and timely supervision during and after events, and ensure that everyone has access to medical resource information services.

So, what are the pathways to achieving this goal?

How to Build a Systematic Approach?

First, standardize the construction and management standards.The National Health and Family Planning Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine shall formulate technical documents and specifications for the construction, management, and operation of the electronic registration system, unify data standards, system operating rules, and application management mechanisms, and establish a national electronic registration system. Provincial-level health and family planning administrative departments (including traditional Chinese medicine management departments, hereinafter referred to as such) shall optimize and integrate existing networked registration systems, accelerate the development of provincial electronic registration systems, and achieve interconnectivity with the national electronic registration system.

Second, promote collaborative sharing.The electronic registration system should reserve space for business expansion and integration. It will gradually achieve interactive integration and resource sharing with information systems such as the National Health Information Platform, medical institution verification, medical institution quality control, physician qualification examinations, periodic physician assessments, and medical supervision and law enforcement.

Additionally, dynamic updates are implemented.Health and family planning administrative departments at all levels shall organize medical institutions within their respective jurisdictions to comprehensively clean up and integrate existing databases of medical institutions, physicians, and nurses; verify registration information; activate static data; and establish relational linkages.

Finally, ensure data authenticity.Accelerate the development of a unified digital identity system to enable electronic real-name authentication, and strictly regulate the collection and use of related data. Individuals who intentionally provide false information or tamper with data shall be punished in accordance with the law. Strengthen training for administrative approval personnel, medical institutions, and healthcare professionals to ensure that registration information is authentic and accurate, and that data usage is legitimate and reasonable.

What improvements have been made to government services after the system was established?

Step 1: Improve online services.Health and family planning administrative departments at all levels shall, in accordance with their statutory responsibilities, comprehensively review the specific administrative service items related to registration. Through the electronic registration system, they shall centrally and fully disclose relevant laws, regulations, policy documents, service guidelines, frequently asked questions, and channels for supervision and reporting; provide standardized forms, completion instructions, and sample templates; and deliver non-discriminatory and equitable government services.

Step 2: Standardize the approval process.Leveraging the electronic registration system, establish an administrative approval operation monitoring model featuring comprehensive coverage, full-process documentation, and data-driven oversight to strengthen prevention and management of integrity risks. All stages of registration—including application, acceptance, review, and decision-making—shall be traceable and trackable. Explore the establishment of performance evaluation mechanisms for administrative approvals and feedback mechanisms from administrative counterparts.

Step 3: Improve ex-ante and ex-post supervision.Basic registration information for medical institutions, physicians, and nurses is disclosed to the public through the electronic registration system, proactively subjecting itself to social supervision. Health and family planning administrative departments at all levels regularly analyze the allocation, utilization, and operational status of relevant medical resources within the electronic registration system, thereby enhancing the scientific rigor and foresight of macro-level decision-making, as well as the precision and timeliness of micro-level management.

Step 4: Establish an information inquiry system.Administrative counterparts may query the processing status and results of relevant matters in real time through the electronic registration system and have the right to submit reasonable requests. The general public may conveniently access information on medical resources through the electronic registration system, thereby providing information services to support patients in seeking medical care.

Although electronic registration is convenient, how can information security be ensured?

Establish a data security management accountability system, with emphasis on content security and technical security. Formulate risk classification and security review rules, conduct regular security evaluations and risk assessments, implement disaster recovery and backup measures, and enhance the system’s security protection capabilities. Establish and improve confidentiality review mechanisms, strengthen data security monitoring and early warning systems, and elevate the level of information security support and risk prevention capabilities.

Under the premises of protecting privacy, clarifying responsibilities, and ensuring timely and accurate data, gradually achieve interconnection and interoperability between the electronic registration system and other credit information systems. Explore providing more convenient services to individuals with good credit records, implement joint disciplinary actions against individuals with serious dishonesty records, and continuously improve the incentive mechanism for trustworthiness and the punishment mechanism for dishonesty in line with the characteristics of the health and family planning industry.

On the one hand, localities shall prioritize cities and prefectures with a solid operational foundation to launch pilot programs in accordance with the schedule for key tasks and actual working conditions. Upon accumulating experience, these initiatives shall be gradually expanded, while provinces meeting the necessary conditions are encouraged to implement them comprehensively. The National Health and Family Planning Commission will select several key liaison provinces to strengthen follow-up guidance.

On the other hand, health and family planning administrative departments at all levels shall incorporate the progress of electronic registration reform as a key component of their performance evaluations, regularly assess implementation status, and promptly address new situations and issues arising during implementation. The National Health and Family Planning Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine will conduct supervisory inspections as appropriate to ensure effective implementation.

The promulgation of this policy will shorten the processing time for practice licenses for medical institutions, physicians, and nurses; continuously deepen supply-side structural reforms in the healthcare services sector; ensure the solid implementation of initiatives to improve healthcare services; accelerate the formation of a diversified landscape for healthcare provision; and sustain an increase in the supply of healthcare resources, thereby continually unlocking their potential.