A New Approach to Organization and Implementation of Military Medical Treatment in Response to Military Reform and Modern Warfare in the Chinese Army

Abstract

Recent system reforms within the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have led to establishment of 5 theatre commands and a general joint logistics command. These reforms have presented new challenges to the organization and implementation of medical services. The medical service of the PLA must keep pace with these reforms by applying innovative theories to establish appropriate organizational guidelines and structures. The medical service must also adapt to the modern and future eras of information warfare. We review the existing structure and features of the military medical service of the PLA, highlighting issues related to ongoing reform within the PLA and the characteristics of modern and future information warfare. Reflection on current rules for medical evacuation and treatment of war-related injuries were made, and related organizational and structural innovations were proposed. Recent reforms and the characteristics of modern information warfare have rendered the current medical service and medical evacuation system of the PLA inefficient. The scale of the echelon configuration should be adjusted to establish a more focused, effective, and intelligent medical service. Resource allocation and general joint logistics should be optimized to establish a new well-rounded, three-dimensional medical evacuation system, and the "stabilize before healing" rule should be applied at all levels of the medical service. These changes should help to create a modern, effective, and responsive medical service within the PLA. This article explores how the military medical service of the PLA could adapt to system reform in order to implement efficient treatment of war injuries, reduce mortality and morbidity rates, and maintain combat readiness in the modern era of information warfare.