National-level medical document released! 12 key tasks
The “15th Five-Year Plan” is about to be launched. What major moves will there be in the medical field?
01
“Implementation Plan for the Medical and Health Foundation-Strengthening Project” Officially Released
On September 10th, according to news from the Chinese government website, the State Council approved the “Implementation Plan for the Medical and Health Foundation-Strengthening Project” (referred to as the “Implementation Plan”).
The “Implementation Plan” has clarified 12 major tasks focusing on aspects such as tight medical alliances, medical and health facilities and equipment at the county and district levels, and incentives for grassroots development. It has also clarified the development direction of grassroots medical construction in the next few years. The key points are summarized as follows:
– Optimizing and upgrading medical and health facilities and equipment in counties and districts.
During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, support was provided for the construction of about 1,000 close-knit county medical communities, promoting the upgrading of county hospitals and key township health hospitals, and strengthening the sharing of resources such as medical imaging, electrocardiographic diagnostics, medical testing, sterilized supply, drug supply and pharmacy services in counties and districts. improve the conditions of facilities and equipment in weak departments of county-level public hospitals and township health centers, and coordinate the deployment of mobile equipment such as “visiting cars + mobile operating rooms”, so as to increase the capacity of itinerant medical services for remote areas and mountainous islands.
– Clear focus on improving primary healthcare services
Developing county-level medical and health institutions to provide services in general practice, infection, anesthesia, pathology, cataract surgery, hemodialysis, mental health, etc. By 2030, counties and districts with a permanent population of over 50000 will generally have the ability to carry out cataract surgery and hemodialysis.
– Strengthening the connotation of compact medical associations
Promoting the quality and expansion of the pilot construction of compact urban medical groups, and constructing a collaboration model of “city-led, district-community integration”. By 2027, compact county medical communities will basically realize full coverage of counties and county-level cities, and by 2030, the compactness and synergy of county medical communities will be further enhanced. Promote the construction of centers for chest pain, stroke, trauma, critical maternal care, critical neonatal and child care, as well as specialized clinical service centers in compact county medical communities.
– Exploring medical artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis and treatment.
Comprehensively promote digital vaccination clinics at the grassroots level to realize intelligent management of the whole process. Promote the application of intelligent assisted diagnosis of radiology, electrocardiography, pathology and other medical images and graphics, and explore the application of medical artificial intelligence assisted diagnosis and treatment at the grass-roots level to provide decision-making support for the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases, multiple diseases and chronic diseases.
–Healthcare payments are tilted towards the grassroots.
Dynamically adjust the prices of medical services in medical and health organizations according to procedures. Reform of the multi-faceted and composite healthcare payment method, which is based on payment for each type of disease, will be promoted, and supporting mechanisms such as special cases and single negotiation, advance payment, opinion collection, negotiation and consultation, and data working groups will be perfected. Selecting the types of diseases that are suitable for primary medical and healthcare institutions to treat, promoting “equal payment for the same disease” within a coordinated area, improving the differentiated payment policies for different levels of medical and healthcare institutions, and tilting the payment ratio toward primary medical and healthcare institutions, so as to promote hierarchical diagnosis and treatment. Implementing policies related to the payment of healthcare for close-knit county medical communities.
02 Significant Expansion of County-Level Equipment Market
The main tasks in the “Implementation Plan” are highly related to medical reform policies in recent years, and relevant information about them has been disclosed recently. Taking the equipment upgrade of the Foundation-Strengthening Project as an example, the National Development and Reform Commission mentioned at its press conference in August that it has coordinated various types of central funds to support about 600 county-level medical communities in improving their basic conditions and equipping more than 11,000 sets of medical equipment. In 2025, various types of central funds totaling approximately 8.8 billion yuan will be coordinated to support the construction of county-level hospitals and key central township health centers, and to promote the upgrading and capacity expansion of five major resource-sharing centers at the county level, including medical imaging, electrocardiogram diagnosis, medical testing, disinfection supply, and central pharmacies (shared traditional Chinese medicine pharmacies).The focus of this county-level specialist construction can also find data support in the “2024 Assessment of Medical Service Capabilities of County Hospitals” announced by the National Health Commission in May. It is mentioned that the establishment rate of 13 professional departments is lower than 80%, among which the establishment rates of general practice, oncology, and psychiatry are 45.17%, 61.49%, and 79.16% respectively. Second, the quality of specialized department construction in county hospitals still needs to be enhanced. The compliance rates of the basic standards for 5 departments, including the Department of Psychiatry, Department of Hematology, Department of Pathology, Department of Thoracic Surgery, and Department of Ophthalmology, are all lower than 80%, which are 46.96%, 62.07%, 65.66%, 66.97%, and 73.68% respectively. Recently, the adjustment of medical service prices has been accelerated and implemented. Up to now, more than 30 batches of national project approval guidelines have been issued, and many regions have officially implemented the new prices. Among them, artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis, as an expanded item, has opened up the charging channel in hospitals.
New favorable healthcare payment policies for hospitals, such as special cases to be discussed individually and advance deposits, have also been intensively implemented, supporting medical institutions in treating patients with complex and severe illnesses and rationally using new drugs, consumables, and new technologies. In addition, the “Implementation Plan” clearly proposes that the payment ratio should be tilted towards primary medical and health institutions, and primary medical care will have more room to play.
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Translated & edited：Bradyknown
