The Poster News APP:

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress said that by giving priority to prevention, we will strengthen the health management of major chronic diseases and enhance the capacity for disease prevention and treatment as well as health management at the community level. What are the priorities for enhancing the capacity for disease prevention and treatment as well as health management at the community level? What will you do to better meet the public's needs for community-level medical services? Thank you.

Wang Bin:

Thank you for your questions. The guidelines for the Party's health work in the new era give high priority at the community level. Health work at the community level, as one of the basic public services, meets people's needs for basic medical and health services. The NHC has continued to improve the community-level medical and health care service system in urban and rural areas, and focused its efforts on the following areas:

First, we have improved infrastructure at community-level medical care institutions. By launching a campaign to provide quality medical care services at the community level and building community hospitals, we have guided community-level medical care institutions to shore up points of weakness and improve our health service capacity. Currently, more than 7,100 community-level medical care institutions meet the recommendation standards, accounting for 68% of those all over the country. More than 3,800 community hospitals have been built, giving great convenience to the public.

Second, we are focusing on rural areas and communities to strengthen our team of medical and health professionals. To better address people's needs, we are enhancing the recruitment of talents in general practice, rehabilitation, nursing, and other fields. We are also providing on-the-job training for personnel, aiming to improve medical workers' basic medical service capabilities and health management skills at the community level. We are organizing urban hospitals and retired doctors to support and assist communities. Additionally, we have implemented the "College Students Rural Doctor Special Program," which means that an increasing number of college students are able to serve the rural population. We are promoting the policy of exercising county-level management of medical professionals working at the township level as well as township-level recruitment of medical professionals working at the village level to enhance the attractiveness of community positions, allowing more outstanding medical professionals to stay and be effectively utilized at the community level. In 2023, over 5,000 college students have been recruited as rural doctors, and this number will continue to increase in the future. Furthermore, more than 4,800 medical students have completed standardized residency training for doctors free of charge under a program to train medical workers for rural areas and have entered positions at the township level.

Third, we are steadily promoting the high-quality development of family doctor contract services. We are promoting family doctor contract services for key populations, such as the elderly and individuals with disabilities, while also expanding the scope of these services. For example, we are encouraging specialists, in addition to general practitioners, and private medical institutions, alongside public ones, to provide services as a way of guiding multiple parties to participate in contract services through community-level healthcare institutions as platforms, and continuously enrich the content of services and optimize service delivery methods. As of the end of June this year, the coverage rate of contract services for key populations had exceeded 70%. Local authorities are also pushing for the expansion of contract services to a broader range of people based on their specific circumstances.

Fourth, we are continuously improving the level of equalization in basic public health services. The per capita fiscal subsidy for basic public health services has steadily increased in recent years, reaching 89 yuan per capita in 2023. We are gradually improving these services in light of the health needs of people. Data show that 89.88 million individuals aged 65 and above, 110 million hypertensive patients, and 37.63 million type 2 diabetes patients enjoyed basic public health management services in the first half of 2023. These figures represent increases of 40%, 3.3%, and 6.9%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2022.

Thank you.