More patients sign with family doctors

More than a third of Beijing's permanent residents were covered by family doctor services as of the end of last year, according to the Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission.

The overall health of Beijing's population has improved greatly since 2009, when China launched a series of programs to promote the equalization of basic public health services nationwide, said Liu Zejun, a member of the Beijing commission who is in charge of disease prevention and control, at a news conference on Monday.

Last year, average life expectancy in Beijing increased to more than 82 years, up from 80.4 in 2009, while the infant mortality rate decreased to 2.21 per thousand last year, from 3.49 per thousand in 2009 - a level similar to that of developed countries, he said.