China wants to increase family doctors services to 30 percent on urban population and 60 percent on priority groups in 2017, state-media Xinhua News reported citing a top health official.

The program aims to establish a tiered disease treatment system to determine which medical institution would best cater patients based on the severity of their illnesses, Li Bin, the head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said.

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Li called for efforts to make sure that priority groups and residents who have contracts with family doctors are provided with more convenient health services. Such service includes the transfer of critical patients to major hospitals and increasing reimbursement ratios on medical expenses, the Global Times reported.

The Chinese government is planning to adjust the physicians' service fees, raise income, and offer promotional and advancement opportunities to put more family doctors in the community and offer more services.

Li noted that in 2006, more than 22 percent of citizens and nearly 39 percent of priority groups experienced the contractual services offered by family doctors in cities where the program was piloted.

Of note, priority groups cover senior citizens, pregnant women, children, people with disability or chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and tuberculosis, and people suffering with severe mental disorders.

Family doctors, on the other hand, include general practitioners registered with grassroot health facilities and registered doctors on township clinics and villages. They are tasked to give basic medical care and other health services to patients.

TagsFamily doctor China, family GP