Background In China, the work of contracted family doctor services and its supporting policies have been emphasized. However, research findings on the evolution and trends of the theme of contracted family doctor services are relatively scarce, which is not conducive to understanding its overall development trend.
Objective To review and analyze the evolution path contracted family doctor services policy at the central level in China, reveal the key issues and hot areas in policy formulation and implementation, and provide references for the subsequent policy optimization.
Methods This study employed the dynamic topic model (DTM) to extract and analyzed 40 central-level contracted family doctor services policy documents from December 2008 to May 2023 and calculates their topic popularity, similarity and topic evolution path.
Results The DTM identified 21 policy topics and their distribution acrossed different stages. The study revealed that the policies had distinct phased characteristics, with the focus shifting from improving primary care quality to tiered diagnosis and treatment, and optimizing service outcomes. However, implementation, guidance, and standard-related policies were relatively lacking.
Conclusion Policy makers should deepen the collaborative governance of contracted family doctor services policy, strengthen the stage continuity of contracted family doctor services policy, and enhance the national standards, norms, and overall guidance for contracted family doctor services.
