China's MOH Releases Healthcare Reform Regulations For Public Opinion

In a show of the healthcare reform's steady progress, China's Ministry of Health recently issued four regulations for public feedback within three days. These are: work plan on the establishment of health records for rural residents; opinion on implementation of medical appointment in public hospitals; administrative system for hospital complaints; and basic framework and data standards for electronic clinical files. According to these documents, the government will start to build up health records for rural residents this year and cover 30 percent of all farmers by 2010; Class III hospitals will implement medical appointment from October; hospitals are to establish a doctor-patient relationship office or designate a department to manage hospital complaints; and electronic medical records will be set up for regional clinical information exchange and sharing. (Click here for more - Chinese Language)