北京医改 (běijīng yīgǎi): Beijing medical care reform

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning has announced it will implement comprehensive healthcare reforms beginning on April 8.

According to the commission, all public hospitals and medical institutions in Beijing will abolish their price markups for pharmaceutical drugs. This move is expected to reduce outpatient fees by about 5 percent.

In addition, the pharmaceutical drugs used and prescribed by these hospitals and medical institutions should be purchased through open bidding, which will make the process more transparent and further reduce prices through competition.

In the future, hospital registration fees and diagnostic fees will be replaced by a medical service fee. This medical service fee will start at 50 yuan ($7) in the general outpatient clinic of the top public hospitals. The medical service fee will be conducive to ending the traditional hospital operation model that uses a hospital's revenue to cover its expenditure.

Meanwhile, the prices of 435 kinds of medical services are to be further regulated and reduced, in order to further reduce the burden on patients.

The reform covers more than 3,600 public medical institutions as well as some private medical institutions in Beijing.

Beijing has the most abundant medical resources in China and the highest percentage of patients from other regions. That's why Beijing's reform is expected to set a good example for healthcare reform nationwide.