China to strengthen rural healthcare via hospital pairing initiative

China on Tuesday unveiled a new five-year action plan pairing top-tier hospitals with county-level medical facilities, as part of a broader push to strengthen primary healthcare and address the treatment needs of rural residents.

The plan mandates that each supporting hospital deploy no fewer than five management or medical professionals to its paired county-level institution, including one individual who will serve as temporary president or vice-president of the recipient hospital.

Each assigned staff member is required to remain on-site for a minimum of six consecutive months, according to the plan issued by the National Health Commission and four other government departments.

Deployed personnel must be competent, proficient in their specialties, and adapt to the conditions of local hospitals and medical demands of local communities.

Notably, the policy supports retired medical practitioners with intermediate or senior professional titles to participate in the pairing program on a flexible schedule, offering demonstration-based teaching and mentorship to county-level staff.

To boost county hospital capacity, the plan directs supporting hospitals to prioritize disease categories that are most prevalent in the recipient area or most frequently drive local residents to seek treatment outside their home counties.

Measures including team-based mentoring, telemedicine consultations, and remote surgical assistance will be employed to channel high-quality medical resources directly to grassroots and remote regions.

Improving county-level capabilities in treating common illnesses, delivering emergency care, and controlling infectious diseases are also among the priority areas, it added.