The current status and challenges of community general practitioner system building in China.

Abstract

China has made great efforts to improve the health of its huge population. One vital task is to find the best way to build community general practitioner (GP) system across the country. Although the government has done a lot, multiple challenges still exist.1 It’s necessary to enact detailed protocols, further increase investment and promote the standardized training for GPs. ### Chinese GPs’ current status The services of GP system in China were originally described as ‘six aspects of care in one location’. The location is the community health service (CHS) institution, including CHS center and CHS station; the six aspects contain basic clinical services, prevention, health education, women and children’s care, elderly care, immunizations and physical rehabilitation. Today, the CHS includes more. GPs are the backbone of the CHS centers. They provide common diseases management; immunization and primary community health prevention; rehabilitation and family planning. Chinese government plans to train 150 thousand GPs by 2015 to meet health demands,2 but consistently high-quality standardized medical training for GPs is still lagging.3 Three GP training models are being used. The first one is free training program for students serving undeveloped areas. The program is 5 year long, and will grant a bachelor degree. The second one is 5 years of undergraduate …