Premier Li Keqiang visited the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone on March 25, 2016, in South China’s Hainan province, China’s first medical tourism center, and praised the new business model that combined medical care with vacation.
The government will make efforts to promote the development of medical services via Internet Plus, and improve health for all people living under the poverty line. The decision was made at the State Council executive meeting on June 8, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.
On one hand, the government will build a big data platform across the country in the medical industry to better meet growing demands. Therefore, medical services, backed by high technology and new business models, will be greatly developed.
On the other hand, the State Council has deployed projects for providing better medical services for people living in poverty, especially in destitute areas. Therefore, health and medical services will be improved in all regions across China.
Development and application of health and medical data will benefit all people in China, no matter they are poor or rich, in rural or urban areas. New technologies such as big data can bring about huge “health dividend”, since they have the property of equality and sharing. What the government will do is to build a unified, authoritative, and open health information platform in order to nurture new business models and meet people’s demands across the country.
At the executive meeting on June 8, Premier Li Keqiang urges promoting online hospital appointment, sharing of the medical examination results, and direct settlement of expenses in places away from hometown. That is to say, the use of new technology will bring real benefits to people.
Improving medical services for impoverished people is a specific policy targeting vulnerable groups. Data shows that there are 7.9 million households in China being pushed below the poverty line because of diseases. In rural areas, 2 million people are suffering from serious illness and 7 million from chronic diseases. Disease is the biggest reason leading Chinese people to poverty.
As the government’s report saying, health is at the root of happiness. The Premier strives to promote the innovative development of medical services with new technology on one hand, and never has he forgotten the medical services improvement in poverty-stricken regions.
