Enterprises, social organizations and even individuals are being
encouraged to open community health centers, according to a
circular jointly released by 11 State departments Tuesday.
Foreigners may also hold a share in joint-venture community-based
medical services.
The move aims to rearrange the unbalanced distribution of medical
resources between rural and urban areas, and between big hospitals
and community-based medical centers in cities.
The government departments said they expect that a well-functioning
community health-care system can be established nationwide by
2005.
In
China, about 70 percent of medical resources are concentrated in
cities, where some 30 per cent of the country's population live.
Within cities, the majority of doctors work in big hospitals.
People often have to walk a long distance to get to big hospitals
and then wait in a long queue to consult a doctor about a common
illness.
Medical services in big hospitals are more expensive than those in
small health centers.
More community-based medical services are needed to meet the
challenges of rapid urbanization, an ageing population and the
increased incidence of chronic diseases, said Li Changming, an
official in charge of grass-roots health care under the Ministry of
Health.
China launched a nationwide reform of its health-care system in
1997. A main target of the reform is to rectify the serious
imbalance of medical services both in rural and urban areas.
By
the end of 2001, a total of 308 cities across the country had
established more than 11,500 community-based health centers and
clinics.
(China
Daily August 28, 2002)