Abstract
Primary care covers a range of preventive services and treatment for common illnesses
and is widely perceived as the core of a comprehensive, cost-effective, and integrated system of health services. China’s primary care system has undergone many changes since the 1949
revolution. The first phase of primary care development (1949-1976) emphasized introducing
community-based primary care workers to strengthen accessibility, affordability, equity,
efficiency, and effectiveness of healthcare in rural China. The second phase (1978-2009) enabled market-based reforms in the healthcare sector in the 1980s, which substantially affected and eliminated the primary care system in rural areas of the country and allowed a hospital-centric system to emerge. In the third phase (early 2000s), the Chinese government recognized the need to revive and strengthen the role of primary care in order to transform a fragmented and underperforming system into one that delivers more effective, efficient, and equitable health care to meet growing population needs and demands (Yip & Hsiao, 2014). However, primary care services in China are facing a workforce crisis. A sufficient, well-functioning healthcare workforce is essential to help China reach the national strategy known as “Healthy China.” Many countries around the world have placed great emphasis on primary care and made strong efforts in improving policies in educating, deploying, managing, and regulating the healthcare workforce in support of primary care. The Chinese government can apply basic lessons from these approaches, including the importance of: 1) transforming the healthcare professional pathway to better supports primary care professionals; 2) improving the workforce composition and capability to meet the demand for primary care services; 3) revising the compensation system to increate strong incentives for high-quality primary care; 4) changing the headcount quota system to promote a more adaptable workforce market for healthcare and effective healthcare worker management.
and is widely perceived as the core of a comprehensive, cost-effective, and integrated system of health services. China’s primary care system has undergone many changes since the 1949
revolution. The first phase of primary care development (1949-1976) emphasized introducing
community-based primary care workers to strengthen accessibility, affordability, equity,
efficiency, and effectiveness of healthcare in rural China. The second phase (1978-2009) enabled market-based reforms in the healthcare sector in the 1980s, which substantially affected and eliminated the primary care system in rural areas of the country and allowed a hospital-centric system to emerge. In the third phase (early 2000s), the Chinese government recognized the need to revive and strengthen the role of primary care in order to transform a fragmented and underperforming system into one that delivers more effective, efficient, and equitable health care to meet growing population needs and demands (Yip & Hsiao, 2014). However, primary care services in China are facing a workforce crisis. A sufficient, well-functioning healthcare workforce is essential to help China reach the national strategy known as “Healthy China.” Many countries around the world have placed great emphasis on primary care and made strong efforts in improving policies in educating, deploying, managing, and regulating the healthcare workforce in support of primary care. The Chinese government can apply basic lessons from these approaches, including the importance of: 1) transforming the healthcare professional pathway to better supports primary care professionals; 2) improving the workforce composition and capability to meet the demand for primary care services; 3) revising the compensation system to increate strong incentives for high-quality primary care; 4) changing the headcount quota system to promote a more adaptable workforce market for healthcare and effective healthcare worker management.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Proquest |
| Volume | 29209800 |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |