State Council Announces Pilot Program for Senior Public Hospital Physicians to Open Clinics in Primary Care Settings and Allows Patients to Choose Between Hospital or Retail Pharmacy for Medication Purchases

On April 6, Premier Li Keqiang presided over an executive meeting of the State Council, which decided to implement the Plan for Standardization and Quality Improvement in the Equipment Manufacturing Industry to lead the upgrading of China’s manufacturing sector. The meeting also deployed measures to advance the “Internet Plus Circulation” initiative, aiming to reduce costs, expand domestic demand, and increase employment. Furthermore, it identified key priorities for deepening healthcare system reform in 2016, ensuring that the benefits of such reforms more extensively reach the general public.

“The Plan for Standardization and Quality Improvement in the Equipment Manufacturing Industry” proposes that,Aiming at the international advanced level, implement projects to enhance standardization and quality in industrial foundations, intelligent manufacturing, and green manufacturing, and accelerate the development of standards for key technologies.Promote new breakthroughs in standardization in key areas such as robotics, advanced rail transit equipment, agricultural machinery, and high-performance medical devices.and adapt to innovative progress and market demands by updating standards in a timely manner, striving to increase the conversion rate of international standards in key fields from over 70% currently to more than 90% by 2020.



The six key areas for deepening the healthcare system reform in 2016:

1. Expand the number of pilot cities for comprehensive reform of urban public hospitals from 100 to 200. Launch demonstration programs for comprehensive reform of county-level public hospitals.

2.Pilot programs for tiered diagnosis and treatment were launched in approximately 70% of prefecture-level cities across China, alongside pilots enabling attending physicians and above from public hospitals—whether active or retired—to practice or establish studios at primary healthcare institutions. By the end of the year, the coverage rate of urban family doctor contract services was expanded to over 15%.Strive to implement clinical pathway management in all tertiary hospitals and more than 80% of secondary hospitals.

3. Improve the compensation mechanism, eliminate drug markups in public hospitals in newly added pilot cities, and strictly control unreasonable fees for examinations and tests. Achieve full coverage of critical illness insurance within the year to alleviate the financial burden on more patients with serious diseases.

4. Comprehensively advance centralized procurement of pharmaceuticals in public hospitals, establish a traceability mechanism for ex-factory drug pricing information, and implement the “Two-Invoice System,” which requires issuing one invoice from manufacturer to distributor and another from distributor to medical institution, thereby making markups in intermediate links transparent.Patients may choose to purchase medications at either hospitals or retail pharmacies.Establish a routine reserve system for drugs in short supply, increase the free provision of special medications such as those for HIV/AIDS, and strengthen supervision over the quality of medical services and pharmaceuticals.

5. Improve the performance-based wage system in primary healthcare institutions, encourage pilot cities to formulate methods for determining the total amount of performance-based wages in public hospitals, establish a distribution and incentive mechanism linked to job responsibilities and performance, and highlight the value of medical personnel’s technical labor services.

6. Promote the nationwide networking of basic medical insurance and settlement for cross-regional medical care. Raise the per capita subsidy standards for basic medical insurance and basic public health services. Add 70,000 residents in standardized training, including 5,000 pediatricians. Coordinate the construction and interconnectivity of population health information platforms at all levels.

Source: The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China