State Council Announces Three Key Initiatives to Advance Health Medical Big Data Development

Recently, the State Council held a meeting to determine measures for developing and standardizing the application of health and medical big data, better meeting public needs through "Internet + Healthcare."

The meeting concluded that the effective development and application of big data in health and healthcare constitute a major livelihood project for advancing supply-side structural reform through innovation. This initiative is conducive to improving the efficiency and quality of health and medical services, increasing effective supply to meet public demand, and fostering new business models to create new drivers of economic growth.

At this meeting, three major initiatives were established to advance the development of big data in healthcare: First, adhering to the principles of security first and privacy protection, prioritize the integration and utilization of existing resources to build an interconnected four-tier population health information platform at the national, provincial, municipal, and county levels, thereby achieving open integration, co-construction, and sharing of data across departments, regions, and industries.

Second, integrate medical big data resources to build support systems for clinical decision-making, disease diagnosis, and drug research and development, while expanding applications in public health monitoring and assessment as well as early warning systems for infectious disease outbreaks. Priority will be given to advancing user-friendly and beneficial applications such as online appointment scheduling and triage, mutual recognition and sharing of examination and test results, and cross-regional direct settlement of medical insurance. Furthermore, the development of telemedicine and intelligent health medical devices will be promoted.

Third, formulate and improve laws, regulations, and standards; establish foundational databases such as electronic health records; standardize the management of resident health information services; strictly regulate market access for the application of big data in healthcare; build control systems including real-name authentication; and safeguard personal privacy and information security.

Furthermore, the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance recently issued the “Notice on Printing and Distributing the Implementation Plan for Inter-regional Networked Settlement of Reimbursements under the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme Nationwide” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”).

The “Notice” proposed the gradual realization of nationwide internet-based settlement for cross-provincial medical treatment under the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS). By the end of 2016, the national and provincial NRCMS information platforms were to be improved, the NRCMS system for out-of-area medical treatment was to be basically established, internet-based settlement for intra-provincial out-of-area medical treatment was to be realized, and pilot programs for internet-based settlement of hospitalization expenses for NRCMS-referred patients receiving care at designated cross-provincial medical institutions were to be launched. By the end of 2017, internet-based settlement for nationwide out-of-area hospitalization of NRCMS-referred patients was to be basically achieved.

In terms of specific implementation, the Notice proposes three measures: First, improve the inter-provincial medical treatment information system by enhancing the national and provincial networks for direct settlement of cross-regional medical expenses, establishing and optimizing the functionalities of the inter-provincial medical treatment information system, and achieving interconnectivity and data sharing among these systems. Second, standardize policies for reimbursement of cross-regional medical expenses by regulating compensation policies, establishing a referral system for cross-regional medical treatment, and implementing designated networked medical institutions. Third, clarify the settlement mechanism for cross-regional medical treatment, primarily including the allocation of management and service responsibilities, the establishment of provincial-level settlement centers, and the standardization of settlement procedures.