Campaign to boost elderly healthcare
The National Health Commission and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have launched a campaign running until 2027, aiming to improve necessary medical and health services for the elderly who are unable to take care of themselves.
A circular was issued requiring eligible medical and health institutions, principally primary-level institutions, as well as nurseries and rehabilitation centers, to offer basic health services, health consultation and guidance for the transfer treatment of the elderly aged 65 and above who have applied for such services.
It asked healthcare institutions to provide at least one assessment of their lifestyle and health condition, one physical examination as well as guidance on keeping healthy each year.
They should dispatch at least two professionals to give door-to-door services, the circular noted, urging the safeguarding of the rights and interests of the elderly.
As of the end of last year, China had 297 million citizens aged 60 and above and 217 million aged 65 and above.
Country's individual businesses top 125 million
The number of China's registered individual businesses has reached 125 million, accounting for 66.9 percent of all business entities in the country, an official with the country's top market watchdog said at a news conference in Beijing on Friday.
Speaking at the conference, Pu Chun, deputy head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said that the "numerous and widespread" individual businesses had played a positive role in stabilizing employment, promoting development and benefiting people's livelihoods.
The administration will continue to improve institutional measures for the business group, such as formulating regulations on promoting the development and standardizing the registration of individual businesses, Pu said.
Crackdown targets scenic spot ticket scalpers
In response to public complaints, the country will increase efforts to crack down on scenic spot ticket scalping, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Friday.
Culture and tourism departments across the country have been advised to collaborate with public security, market supervision and cyberspace affairs authorities to clean up the market environment, the ministry said in an online reply to internet comments.
Regarding complaints about online reservation requirements for tourist attractions, the ministry's resource development department said it had requested flexibility in handling the issue, such as retaining certain spots for on-site ticket sales and ensuring the entry of seniors.
The ministry advised popular venues with sufficient capacity to simply cancel reservations.
The public was also invited to share their opinions on optimizing the reservation procedure.
TCM to better integrate digital technologies
China will promote the integration of digital technologies into the development of traditional Chinese medicine in the next 3 to 5 years, according to state regulators.
Technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence can facilitate the sharing of TCM data and help build "digital and smart TCM", said the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The NATCM and the National Data Administration recently issued a guideline encouraging TCM-based medical institutions to digitize their services, develop digital medical records and build intelligent TCM pharmacies.
The institutions have been asked to share digital records and recognize test results from each other, the guideline noted.
It also outlined arrangements for TCM talent nurturing, innovative development and cultural communication to be enabled by digitization.
In addition, the document pledged support for building databases for TCM-related ancient books, cultural relics and knowledge.
