China’s medical reform a healthy dose for private healthcare
12-Jun-16, South China Morning Post
The introduction of a family doctor system on the mainland is expected to provide huge opportunities for independent institutions offering medical and information management services.
%20Xinhua.jpg "Chinas medical reform a healthy dose for private healthcare (c) Xinhua")
Image: Xinhua
The government has unveiled guidelines to extend the family doctor system nationwide, expecting every household to have a contracted family doctor by 2020. A pilot scheme will be launched this year, with 200 public hospitals signing up households in their community for family doctor services.
The aim of the scheme is to alleviate the bottlenecks at big hospitals in urban areas where patients even with minor ailments would rush to for treatment. This is despite having to queue for hours before they are treated.
Sun Yuanyuan, an analyst at Industrial Securities, said third party providers of medical examination services would benefit the most from the reform. “Patients do not trust doctors at rural hospitals. They worry that these hospitals are incapable of providing all the medical services,” Sun said. “Thus, we see business opportunities.”