Achievements and Challenges of the Healthcare System in China

Abstract

China's healthcare system has made great achievements in the management of medical services and public health challenges for the Chinese people. However, the issue of an aging population in Chinese society is becoming more and more salient. The gap between demand and supply of healthcare is expanding. China's healthcare system is facing unprecedented challenges. These problems include an insufficient medical insurance fund, nonuniform insurance reimbursement policies, a poor integrity system, and a lack of supervision in the management of the medical insurance fund. To address these challenges, some practical solutions are worth considering. A national medical insurance supervision platform should be strengthened. Besides, blacklists for illegal medical institutions and individuals engaged in malicious medical disturbances should be created. The country should also introduce policies to narrow the differences in regional medical insurance policies and balance the reimbursement levels of residents in different regions. Big data and artificial intelligence can be used to monitor the entire process of medical insurance fund utilization. The government needs to establish relevant laws and regulations to optimize the medical insurance system and ensure the safe and effective operation of the medical insurance fund. Categories: Public Health, Health Policy Keywords: basic medical insurance, public health, health policy, healthcare insurance, global healthcare systems Editorial A good healthcare system is an indispensable part of the happiness of residents in a country [1]. Nowadays, the existing health systems all over the world are different due to the different combinations of components. China's healthcare system has gained internationally recognized achievements in the management of medical services and public health challenges for the Chinese people. However, as the aging of the population becomes increasingly serious, more and more elderly people have higher demands for public medical treatment. China's healthcare system is facing unprecedented challenges [2]. In this editorial, we propose some problems and solutions for the healthcare system in China. Achievements of China's healthcare system The Chinese government has established a sound healthcare system. China is the largest developing country in the world, and it's very difficult for the government to establish a large and effective healthcare system [2]. With the continuous efforts of successive governments, a total of 1,030,935 healthcare institutions will have been established on the Chinese mainland by the end of 2021. There are 36,570 hospitals and 977,790 primary-level clinics. Hospitals in China are organized according to a three-tier system that recognizes a hospital's ability to provide medical care, provide medical education, and conduct medical research. Based on this, hospitals are designated as primary, secondary, or tertiary institutions. There are 3,275 tertiary hospitals, which are usually affiliated hospitals of universities or large medical centers in provinces or big cities. There are 10,848 secondary hospitals, which are medium-sized hospitals, in the districts and counties. There are 12,649 primary hospitals and 9,798 unclassified hospitals, which are usually private hospitals. Except for the different-level hospitals above, there are also 36,160 community health service centers in urban areas and 34,943 township health centers in rural areas [3]. This kind of health center is usually a clinic for the basic medical needs of the community and rural residents. Every village has a clinic, and every town or township has a health center served by licensed doctors. In 2021, the number of beds in medical institutions across the country reached 9.4 million, including 7.4 million in hospitals, 1.7 million in township-level health centers, and 0.3 million in public health institutions. Besides, there are a total of 67,153 ICU beds nationwide [3]. As a result, the country has built an integrated healthcare system of high quality and efficiency and improved the availability and accessibility of medical resources. The Chinese government has also established a healthcare insurance system that covers almost 96% of the population and benefits more than 1.36 billion people. This system includes basic medical insurance conducted by the government and commercial health insurance provided by various companies. Basic medical insurance is a great-covered social security course and collects the funds from enterprises and 1 1