Preventive healthcare initiatives feature largely in the blueprint for China's medical reform, a key official closely involved in the policymaking revealed.

Ge Yanfeng, deputy chief of the social development research department under the Development Research Center of the State Council, made the remarks on Monday at the one-day Summit of the Pacific Health Forum held in Beijing.

"The most urgent issue is how to make the prevention-oriented healthcare approach become a reality, and how to efficiently persuade Chinese citizens and medical institutions to be more proactive about health issues," Ge told China Daily.

Ge said the proposal was still at an early stage.

However, he urged the government to invest more in the health sector and offer more free health services to prevent diseases.

Most preventive medical measures are not presently covered by the umbrella of health insurance.

Many costly and disabling conditions - cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes - are linked to preventable risk factors, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which highly recommends member countries integrate prevention medical services into public healthcare.

"For that, the government is obliged to extend support with favorable policies and systems," Ge said, adding the current medical system was unable to achieve that goal effectively since most hospitals are more "business or market-orientated".

Currently, the government only subsidizes a mere 5 percent of the actual running costs of public or State-owned hospital, a major source for medical care.

As a result, some hospitals have reportedly "cashed in" on patients by over-prescribing drugs and ordering unnecessary medical checks for patients.

"The government is aware of that and is working to revamp the system, which in fact conflicts with public health," Ge said.

(China Daily October 17, 2007)