China launched its medical reform in 2009, with a goal of providing universal healthcare services to its 1.3 billion residents. Public hospitals are at the centre of the country’s health system. Currently, the hospital reform is still in its pilot stage. CCTV reporter Li Nan reports what changes have been made in government-run hospitals over the past three years.

"The queue is too long." "Why are medical services so expensive?"

People have always been complaining about their experiences of seeing doctors in China.

But in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the situation has been eased over the past few years.

"Many hospitals have introduced telephone booking systems. Some even launched internet services for patients to book their appointments online." CCTV reporter Li Nan said.

As one of the pilot cities, Beijing carried out telephone and internet booking solutions in July, providing alternative choices to help make appointment-bookings more convenient. Over 70 local hospitals have joined the service.

Beijing Resident said, "I once made my clinic appointment online and came to see the doctor without queuing the next day. The internet booking is quite helpful.

Meanwhile, some patients still find it hard when they want to see a chief physician or go to top hospitals.

"I chose to see a chief doctor last time. And I had to queue up very early in the morning to book his time slot. " Said Beijing resident.

The improvement on clinic bookings is only one part of China’s healthcare reform. The government is also seeking a more sustainable funding mechanism, to make seeing doctors more affordable.

Currently, around 90 percent of medical services in the country rely on public hospitals. Originally, these hospitals generate their incomes from drug sales, which has led to high medicine bills.

Sun Zhigang, Director of Medical Reform Office, State Council, said, "On one hand, we are making efforts to introduce the medical insurance system to wider areas, and to provide more government subsidies on medical bills. On the other hand, we have established a basic medicine system with necessary drugs produced and distributed under government control. The average medicine price have dropped 30 percent in the past few years."

Despite the fast development, the country still has a long way to go to establish a high-standard medical care system. The current hospital reform is in the pilot phase and has only been applied to selected cities. More improvements need to be made, to narrow the gap of medical conditions between large and small cities, as well as urban and rural areas.

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