New guidelines

The commission is currently drafting a national prevention and treatment guideline to tackle the threat posed by chronic diseases, according to an official who spoke at a National Conference on Chronic Diseases Control and Prevention in June. Details of the guideline, which will set several targets to be achieved between 2016 and 2025, will be released before the end of the year.

Kong Lianzhi, deputy director of the commission's Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control, said the guideline would help to improve the nation's fitness levels by raising health awareness and promoting greater physical activity.

Since 2001, the government has turned the focus from treatment to prevention, so the provision of improved services in residential areas and home medical staff will be essential elements of the plan, Kong said.

In 1998, the health department in the Xicheng district of Beijing set up a program to train 25,000 citizens in healthcare and first aid by 2010, and by the end of this year, the number of people trained will be nearly 10 times higher than five years ago.

In June, the Chinese capital also launched a pilot project aimed at improving medical skills in 300 residential clinics. Experienced physicians from level-three (the highest level) hospitals will help to train the practitioners in the clinics, and diseases that affect the respiratory, cardiovascular and digestive systems will be the main targets.

An online system that will connect residential clinics with level-three hospitals is also being constructed and should be in operation by August, according to Wu Yonghao, director of the Society of General Physicians at the Beijing Medical Doctor's Association. "With this system, patients who require further treatment can be transferred from the clinics to the hospital without having to make a reservation," Wu said.

A number of other cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou in Guangdong province and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, have joined the pilot program, which is set to be expanded across the country in the near future.

Tang Yue contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn