China channels more urban medical resources to lower-level healthcare units

BEIJING -- China has made continuous efforts to channel medical resources from urban areas to county-level and grassroots healthcare institutions to better meet public demand, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).

The NHC has instructed municipal and county hospitals to regularly send qualified doctors to township-level healthcare institutions for medical services, education and training programs.

Preliminary statistics show that over 200,000 doctors were sent from township-level healthcare institutions to village clinics nationwide in 2023, effectively improving medical services in villages, NHC official Fu Wei told a press conference on Tuesday.

The constant improvement of primary-level healthcare service networks has resulted in full coverage of basic healthcare services for urban and rural residents, said Fu.

In addition, efforts will be made to advance a pairing assistance program, said NHC official Li Dachuan. Under the program, 1,173 Grade-III hospitals have assisted 1,496 county-level hospitals in strengthening work related to clinical specialties, professionals and management, among other aspects.

Data from the NHC shows that last year, more than half of the 2,062 county-level hospitals nationwide met the high standard for Grade-III hospitals in terms of medical service capacity.

Li said further efforts will be made to enable the sustained allocation and sharing of personnel, techniques and services, and to promote remote medical services linking grassroots hospitals to higher-level healthcare institutions.