Abstract
This paper introduces the background, aim and objectives of the project entitled “China—the Gates Foundation Collaboration on TB Control in China” that has been underway for many years. It also summarizes the key findings of the nine papers included in this special issue, which used data from the baseline survey of Phase II of the project. Data were collected from the survey of TB and MDR-TB patients, from designated hospitals, health insurance agencies and the routine health information systems, as well as key informant interviews and focus group discussions with relevant key stakeholders. Key issues discussed in this series of papers include the uses of TB services and anti-TB medicines and their determining factors related to socio-economic and health systems development; expenditures on TB care and the financial burden incurred on TB patients; and the impact of health insurance schemes implemented in China on financial protection.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40249-016-0096-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Introduction of the ChinaGates project From 2009 to 2012, the first phase of the “China-Gates project” focused on multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) diagnosis, treatment and financing
Funding for TB services will be mainly provided by health insurance schemes instead of the special fund earmarked for TB from the Ministry of Finance, as it has been with the implementation of DOTS strategies from the 1990s until recently [10]
The second phase of the project expanded the scope of work by including all TB patients, and integrating the financing of TB care into China’s health insurance schemes, in line with the ongoing reform of public hospitals
Summary
In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that China had the second highest burden of both tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in the world [1]. Over-provision and under-provision of TB services in the Chinese hospitals co-exists at present Hu and his colleagues reported high admission rates in the project sites of their paper, entitled “Factors that affect TB patient admission rate and TB patient cost” and identified three main factors that were closely associated with TB patient admission rates: (1) economic incentives which encouraged hospitals to generate revenues from TB services, (2) misunderstanding of infectious disease control that promoted hospitalization, and (3) health insurance policies that potentially induce the utilization of TB services in designated hospitals [11]. The authors proposed strategies that China should take to tackle MDR-TB epidemic in the years to come
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
