Primary health reforms in China since the New Healthcare Reform: Policy, Practice, and Progress

In 2009, China launched a new round of radical healthcare system reforms, with primary health as a key area. Great progress and good outcomes have been made in promoting primary health which have helped to form the typical model and experience of primary health in China in its current development stage. Based on literature analysis and case study, this paper reviewed the history of primary health care in China since the latest round of healthcare system reforms, summarized the practices and outcomes of initiating institutional reforms, enhancing health capacity, improving care delivery, and building the system, so as to provide some experiences for the international comparison. In the face of the new situation of population aging and changes in the spectrum of diseases, China's primary health care is still facing problems and challenges such as unbalanced development, weak service capacity, weak talent team, and the lack of a hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system. Considering the actual situation of primary health in China and looking ahead, next step five areas need be reinforced.