75% of Chinese population to be registered with family doctors by 2035

BEIJING -- China will expand family doctor services to cover at least 75 percent of its population by 2035, according to a guideline jointly issued by six government departments, including the National Health Commission.

By 2035, family doctors are expected to serve about 85 percent of priority patients, including the elderly, pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, people with chronic diseases and people with mental illnesses, the policy document said.

The government will work to raise the percentage of people registered with family doctors by 1-3 percentage points every year from 2022, it said.

Family doctors can be general practitioners, eligible doctors at hospitals, or doctors of traditional Chinese medicine. Doctors at primary-level hospitals are encouraged to join this line of work.

Fees will be jointly covered by China's medical insurance scheme, government expenditure on public medical services, and the individuals receiving medical services.

China's health authorities will work to raise the capacities of family doctors and streamline their services, the document said.