System of family doctors developing

Grassroots health professionals seen as way to improve services, cut costs

China's top health authority is standing by its statement that more than 500 million people had been assigned family doctors as of the end of November, despite a barrage of questions raised by netizens.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission said on Wednesday that the figure was based on data reported by local governments since May. It reiterated that the number of people who accessed family doctor services met the target for the year.