Development of General Medicine in China
Since general medicine was introduced to China by the World Organization of Family Doctors (
WONCA) in September of 1988, the government paid much attention to general medicine, and made
it as an important way to realize the goal that everybody would be covered by medical care in 2000.
Professor Dixon who was a well-known scholar of WONCA said: if any country dose not take general
medical doctors who are well trained by modern medical science and technology as the foundation of
national medical health care system, then it would be doomed to pay high price for the setback.
Public health system of our country is facing senile diseases, chronic illness, and chronic non-
communicable diseases that are increasing day by day during the population aging process, and the
unreasonable distribution of hygienic resources. Simultaneously, the request of health services from
people becomes more and more and the contradictory between the rise of the medical expense and
the improvement of human overall state of health highlights day after day. In 2003, SARS brought
sign of warn to us that the enhancement of community prevention and the improvement of health
consciousness of the people are crucial important. These all indicated that general medicine in China
is the inevitable result of the development of medical pattern, and has a great prospect in the
future. The development of General Medicine in our country has experienced the following three
periods :
(1) from the end of 80's to the beginning of 90's, general medicine of our country experienced
propagandas, exploitation and introduction period.
(2) from the beginning of 1990s to the end of 1996, general medicine of our country
experienced the period of spontaneous practices and fundamental research.
(3) after the National Health Conference in 1996, general medicine of our country experienced
theperiod of government participation.
After exploration and research for several years, the National General Medicine Educational
Work Conference was convened in December of 2000. And this conference symbolized a
comprehensive start and development of the educational work of general medicine in our country.
The decision about the hygienic and health system reform and development by Central Committee of
the CCP State Council was explicitly brought forward that the community health service must be
developed positively, and the populace's hygienic and health service network that had reasonable
and convenient functions must be gradually formed. The key of the development of community
health service was to train general medical doctors vigorously, and establish a comprehensive
system for community health services that are formed mainly by general medical doctors.
1. The conditions of the development of General Medicine discipline in our country:
Presently, the health system reform and development of our country has been at a crucial
phase, the situation and the duty that the public health system faced proposed great challenges to
our medical education:
First, the plan work of regional health has made a positive progress, through the
transformation and reorganization of some medical and health organizations, the degree of
utilization of hygienic and health resources is enhanced greatly, causing the fairness, the availability
and the validity of the hygienic and health service improved to certain degree. During the process of
the adjustment and the reorganization of hygienic and health resources, and the process which
hygienic and health resources is shifted to the basic unit community, the divergence and the transfer
to another posts of health technical personnel, and the enhancement of general medical services at
basic unit of community are drawn more and more attention.
Secondly, the reform of the health service system in the city has made progress. The
community health service is developing thoroughly, and the people realize clearly that the
professional of general medicine is the key to complete the community health service. The general
medical doctors at basic health unit will be the main force of the community health service work.
Along with the community health service becoming the key point of the basic unit health work, the
knowledge and skills of basic unit health care workers will be greatly requested and the desire of
learning the related knowledge and receiving corresponding training are becoming intense day by
day.
Thirdly, the decision about establishing the cities staff basic medical insurance system by State
Council has accelerated the reform of our country's medical insurance system. The organizational
reform of medicine and health system must be advanced positively, and General Medicine and the
community health services must be developed vigorously. Therefore, a network that is competent
for community health service work, welcomed by people, formed by the general medical doctors as
the backbone is in great need. This is the important guarantee for lasting, thorough development of
community health service, and is the important action that strengthens the social ideological and
ethical progress, promotes the development of economy and the establishment of social security
systems. These challenges have provided a good opportunity and development condition for the
establishment of general medicine that is emerging as a new discipline in our country.
The same is true that the Decision about Hygienic Reform and Development by Central
Committee of the CCP, State Council , which was published in January of 1997. The decision pointed
out more explicitly that the health service system of the city must be reformed, the community
health service must be developed positively, hygienic and health service network which is reasonable
and convenient must be formed gradually, the development of general medicine must be speeded
up, general medical doctors must be trained. It was the first time that it was stipulated so explicitly
that the development of community health service was a important content in hygienic and health
system reform for several years in the future in the central documents by government of our
country; and the training of special general medical doctors by general medical knowledge as core
content became the key link of the manpower construction of the community health service. The
establishment of general medicine discipline in our country, and the development general medicine
system is the key part of the reform and development of public health system in our country.
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