The Health Care System

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, a health-care system is defined as “the sum total of all the organizations, institutions and resources whose primary purpose is to improve health.” This article provides a selected bibliography for the health-care system in China. While the health-care system of contemporary China has been established since 1949, this article mainly focuses on research on the health-care system in the era after the 1980s. In particular, many of the studies cited in this article were published after the recent round of health reform in 2009. Health-care system is a broad category and the following major topics are selected. First, how the health-care system is financed (i.e., health-care financing) and production of health care is organized (i.e., health service delivery) are the key components of the health-care system. Second, pharmaceutical policy plays a significant role in both health financing and service delivery. Third, the recent round of health reform in 2009 has shifted the organizational, financial, and institutional organization in the Chinese health-care system. This article also includes major studies on the 2009 health reform. Fourth, health-care systems in different countries have country-specific institutional arrangements but also have similar policy goals, including affordability of health-care services and health equity. Given this, the article cites works comparing health-care systems in other countries with the Chinese health-care system. Fifth, for a transition economy such as China, increasing health inequality in the process of marketization is a critical issue. Sixth, public health is considered as a part of the health-care system in this article for two reasons. Many public health issues such as tobacco control have significant impacts over personal health services. Also, a significant amount of government’s financial and institutional resources in health care are allocated for public health. The experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in China support both points above. Seventh, the role of the regulatory system and political institutions is critical for implementing health policies and initiating health reform. Eighth, we also select works studying the interaction between the health-care system and the socioeconomic changes in China, including urbanization, demographic changes, poverty reduction, and so on. Ninth, useful resources for researchers, including journals, data sources, and reference works, are covered.