Wuhu is opening up its medical and health service network

Seeing a doctor is more convenient, experts are easier to find, and health management is prioritized—in Wuhu, a healthcare reform centered on public health is quietly transforming people's lives.

As one of the first cities in China to be designated a model city for public hospital reform and high-quality development, Wuhu is drawing on the experience of the "Sanming Medical Reform." With "Party-building leadership, collaboration among the three medical sectors, digital empowerment, and integration of medical and preventive care" as its core principles, it is breaking down traditional medical barriers and building a continuous, coordinated, and efficient health service system, ensuring that the benefits of medical reform truly reach every citizen.

Breaking the mold and generating vitality from within

To generate momentum for reform, the first step is to truly "activate" policies: Wuhu has upgraded its Municipal Party Committee's Deepening Medical Reform Office, authorized the deputy mayor in charge to coordinate the coordinated work of the "three medical sectors" of medical care, medical insurance, and pharmaceuticals, and explored the establishment of Party Committee Health and Health Work Committees at the county (city) and district levels, providing a unified "operating system" for medical reform across the city.

For reform to advance, the key lies in mobilizing the enthusiasm of participants. Wuhu has broken through institutional barriers through systems like the "staff rotation pool," finally giving over 1,000 outstanding non-staff medical personnel and 35 university-educated village doctors official status. Medical personnel's average annual salary income has increased by 10.09% compared to five years ago, with stable compensation accounting for 54.91%. Dynamic adjustments to medical service prices have been implemented, with 572 service items adjusted and optimized since 2022, increasing the proportion of medical service revenue to 36.3%. Simultaneously, the government has fulfilled its investment responsibilities, investing a total of 1 billion yuan in debt repayment funds, reducing the asset-liability ratio of municipal public hospitals from 62.59% to 48.8%.

With its burden reduced, hospitals can better return to their public welfare orientation.

Data empowerment makes medical consultations smoother.

In the past, difficulties in seeking medical treatment were often associated with referrals and finding specialists. Now, in Wuhu, a new solution has emerged.

The municipal health and medical insurance departments have jointly established a special working group to break down data barriers between medical insurance, hospitals, and primary care institutions, establishing a city-wide consultation and referral information system. The system captures medical insurance referral information in real time, connecting 2,200 specialists from over 150 medical institutions within and outside the province, automatically matching patients with specialist resources. By 2024, the number of referrals for outpatient care in Wuhu will decrease by 12,000, a year-on-year decrease of 17.6%, meaning more people can receive treatment locally without having to leave their homes.

For the advancement of medical and health services, the core lies in cultivating talent, and the key lies in strengthening disciplines. Wuhu implemented the "Hua Tuo Plan," recruiting 628 high-level professionals and developing seven high-level disciplines and 37 high-level disciplines focused on diseases with high referral rates, thereby enhancing Wuhu's medical technology.

    To strengthen primary healthcare capabilities, the "100 Doctors Going to the Grassroots" initiative has established 74 specialized departments, increasing the county's diagnosis and treatment capabilities for difficult-to-treat diseases by 40%.

An incentive system has also been established: experts from outside the city who come to Wuhu for surgery, and local experts who provide support in counties, will receive rewards. Hospitals that receive medical insurance subsidies for patients who remain in the local area after receiving outpatient consultations.

Even more thoughtful, a volunteer service team of Party members and experts has established 32 pioneer posts, implementing cross-departmental MDT diagnosis and treatment, providing one-stop solutions for over 3,800 complex cases. Since the establishment of the Pulmonary and Breast Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center, the average time from examination to treatment plan has been reduced by 40%, and satisfaction has increased to 96.7%.

Not long ago, a 24-minute "relay race" in Wuwei successfully saved a patient with acute myocardial infarction: the town health center sent an electrocardiogram (ECG) to the Wuwei City Chest Pain Collaborative Treatment Group. A cardiologist at Wuwei People's Hospital observed the ECG and diagnosed acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. They immediately provided remote guidance and initiated referral procedures. The Chest Pain Center at Wuwei People's Hospital then activated an emergency "green channel," allowing patients to bypass cumbersome procedures and proceed directly to the catheterization lab. This breakthrough in conventional procedures significantly shortens the time from admission to surgery, creating valuable time for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction patients – and this is precisely the significance of reform.

With the establishment of a tiered diagnosis and treatment network that connects vertically and radiates horizontally, Wuhu is building a new diagnosis and treatment system featuring high-quality resource sharing and regional collaboration.

Promoting health and making disease prevention a priority

The Healthy China strategy clearly defines the shift in my country's healthcare sector from a "disease-centered" approach to a "health-centered" one. "Co-construction and sharing, health for all" is not just a slogan but a concrete vision.

Wuhu's approach is to bring health management to the people, encouraging them to actively participate in health promotion.

How can one eat for a healthy life? What are the secrets of the human skeleton? How can occupational diseases be scientifically prevented and treated? ... Wuhu boasts Anhui Province's first municipal-level health education center. It boasts six exhibition halls, including "Healthy Wuhu," "Healthy Life," and "Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture," 26 interactive exhibits, as well as functional facilities such as a health lecture hall, a psychological venting room, and a health science video studio. It integrates technology, fun, and practicality, bringing health knowledge to life through immersive experiences. Relying on medical universities, we have established professional health education teams and built a "health science matrix," generating over 260,000 online interactions. The innovative "Dandelion Project" has delivered 120 health education sessions, reaching 50,000 teachers and students through a "small hands leading big hands" initiative. This initiative aims to encourage healthy family habits.

Currently, the city's health literacy level has reached 33.7%, and life expectancy has increased to 82.4 years.

New approaches have also been adopted for chronic disease management. Hypertension and diabetes are now managed in an integrated manner, with a three-tiered "red, yellow, and green" classification system established. Medical insurance funds are now managed through prepayment of chronic disease funds. The city's electronic health record registration rate is 93%, and over 600,000 people are receiving standardized care for these diseases.

959 family doctor teams cover the entire city, with an 84.1% contract rate for key populations and 3.5 general practitioners per 10,000 people. 592 specialist physicians have been deployed to provide contracted services at the grassroots level. More concretely, 25 medical institutions have established a total of 1,277 home beds, serving over 6,000 patients, truly achieving a closed-loop service model of "prevention in the community, management at home, and diagnosis and treatment in the hospital."

As one community resident who signed up for the program put it, "Now that I have a family doctor, I can consult anytime for minor ailments. They can help me contact others if I need referrals, and even during my recovery period, I have someone to provide guidance at home. It's like having a 'health butler' by my side."

"In this round of medical reform, we are addressing the dual challenges of 'difficulty accessing a doctor' and 'inadequate health management.' Using the physical operation of consultation and referral centers and universal health promotion as the 'twin wheels,' we are building a comprehensive service chain of 'diagnosis, treatment, consultation, referral, and health intervention,' transforming the model from 'single-point treatment' to 'systematic management.'" Yang Yan, Director of the Municipal Health Commission, stated, "Through this 'two-wheel drive' reform, we have achieved a systematic transformation that 'proactively provides services, allocates medical resources to the grassroots, improves health literacy, and reduces the burden of medical treatment.' This results in a 'win-win' for patients, hospitals, health insurance, and society."

Translated by Wang Yafang from Jinning Foreign Affairs Services of Anhui Province Co.,Ltd