Nearly a million people in the city of Shijiazhuang will be getting special health cards this year, that will give them easier access to medical treatments and welfare, Hebei health department has announced.

Shijiazhuang, the Hebei capital, will be a pilot city in the health card program, with the first million cards to be handed out this year and, after two years, around 75 percent of the province’s people are expected to have the medical service. Eventually, by about 2020, all counties and cities will be included, according to a recent provincial public health department announcement.

The card will carry basic information on the holder besides their identity, such as blood type, medical history, allergies, and so on and allow register, booking register, inquiry, payment and list printing.

The new card can be used to pay for the cost of medical service in hospitals covered by this new system in Hebei.

The card also allows patients to apply for reimbursement right after medical treatments at local hospitals and even others in different cities.

Under the current system, get a reimbursement from the local welfare department can be a time- and energy-consuming process if the medical care was given at a hospital outside the local area.

According to the new plan, four special groups will get priority in taking part in this pilot program in Shijiazhuang -- rural people, newborn infants, workers with occupational disease risks, and blood donors. If the pilot system is successful, the governments will promote the new card system across the province.