Beijing plans to improve family doctor services

Beijing health authorities announced on Wednesday they plan to improve the quality of service provided by family doctors working at community health service centers.

In 2012, the city began to transform the way grassroots medical workers provide service by training them as family doctors, who sign a contract with residents in their neighborhood and arrange regular consultations to help their patients manage their health and prevent and control chronic diseases.

In its plan to improve the quality of the service, issued on Wednesday, the commission said more family doctors from the community health service centers should make appointments with their patients.

More patients have been going to community health service centers as the government tries to connect people with minor or chronic diseases to grassroots healthcare providers, and community health service centers in urban areas have seen a large increase in their number of patients. Thus, making appointments at different times for different patients will help maintain order at the centers, said Zong Baoguo, an official with the grassroots health department of the city's health and family commission.

"The number of people going to community health service centers increased from about 6 million a year in 2006 to almost 60 million a year now," he said.

Family doctors should also help protect their patients' privacy when the latter come to their offices for advice, offer more detailed consultations and, at the end of the consultation, make appointments for a following visit, according to the plan.

"We should create a comfortable environment for patients, so that they will not be disturbed by other patients intruding into the office. Also, doctors should guarantee enough time for each patient and offer standard treatment and sufficient communication," said Xu Junfeng, director of the department.

Family doctors in more than 50 percent of the city's community health service centers should accomplish such goals by the end of 2014, the plan states.