Strengthening primary health care in China: governance and policy challenges.

Primary care is often the weakest link in health systems despite its acknowledged central importance in promoting population's health at economical cost. A key reason for the lacunae is that both scholars and practitioners working on the subject typically underestimate the enormity of the task and the range of complementary measures required to build an effective primary care system. The objective of the paper is to highlight theoretical gaps and practical limitations to strengthening primary care. The challenges and difficulties are illustrated through a case study of China where primary care continues to struggle despite the government's strong political, financial and policy support in recent years. In this paper, we review the development of primary health care in China and how it is governed, provided, and financed, highlighting the gaps and misalignments that undermine its performance. We argue that governance deficiencies coupled with flawed financing and payments arrangements are major impediments to improving performance. China's experience offers valuable lessons for other governments seeking to strengthen primary health care.

Nrf2: Therapeutic target of islet function protection in diabetes and islet transplantation.

Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) has been reported as a major intracellular regulator of antioxidant stress, notably in islet ß cells with low antioxidant enzyme content. Nrf2 is capable of regulating antioxidant function, while it can also regulate insulin secretion, proliferation, and differentiation of ß cells, ER stress, as well as mitochondrial function. Thus, Nrf2 pharmacological activators have been employed in the laboratory for the treatment of diabetic mice. Islet cells are exposed to oxidative environment when islet is being transplanted. Accordingly, less than 50% of islet cells are well transplanted, and their normal function is maintained. The pharmacological activation of Nrf2 has been confirmed to protect islet cells at different stages of transplantation stages during experiments for islet transplantation.

The correlation between gut and intra-tumor microbiota and PDAC: Etiology, diagnostics and therapeutics.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the lethal cancers in the world and its 5-year survival rate is <10%. Due to the unique TME and dense tissue structure, its curative efficacy is far from satisfactory，the immunotherapy is even more invalid. According to the recent studies, the gut and tumor microbiota have been proved to play a key role in the development, progression and prognosis of PDAC. Based on the differences of microbiome composition observed in PDAC patients and normal pancreas, many researches have been made focusing on the latent communication between gut and intra-tumor microbiota and PDAC. In this review, we will demonstrate the potential mechanism of the oncogenic effects of GM and IM and their crucial effects on modulating the TME. Besides, we focus on their interaction with chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic drugs and inducing the drug resistance, thus enlightening the promising role to be used to monitor the occurrence of PDAC, accurately modulate the immune environment to promote the therapeutic efficacy and predict the prognosis.

Willingness to Purchase Hypothetical Private Long-Term Care Insurance Plans in a Super-ageing Society: Evidence from Hong Kong.

Despite the soaring demand for long-term care (LTC) services in aging societies, dedicated risk-pooling mechanisms are largely absent. Private insurance has been advocated but the market remains small. This study seeks to unravel this paradox through an empirical study in Hong Kong, a super-aging society. We analyzed middle-aged individuals' willingness to purchase hypothetical private LTC insurance plans derived from a discrete choice experiment. A survey was conducted in 2020 and sampled 1,105 respondents. We noted a fairly encouraging level of acceptance but also found clear barriers toward potential purchase. The desire for self-sufficiency and preference for formal care powerfully increased individuals' interest. Cognitive difficulty, habitual adherence to out-of-pocket payment, and unfamiliarity with the LTC insurance market reduced such interest. We explained the results with reference to the changing social dynamics and drew policy implications for LTC reforms in Hong Kong and beyond.

Health reform in China: Developments and future prospects.

In 2009, China initiated a new round of health reform to establish a well-functioning health system. The 2009 health reform did make some significant achievements in improving affordability and accessibility. In particular, social health insurance has been expanded significantly and various social health insurance plans have covered over 95% of total population in China by 2011. The Chinese government also has significantly increased fiscal input for health financing. However, affordability remains a serious concern as the social health insurers, as purchasers, were not very effective in containing the growth of health expenditure. Accessibility to primary care and public health is another concern. In this context, health governance reforms are necessary to address affordability and accessibility issues. Health governance set rules for key actors of the health system (including service providers, health insurers and government departments) by taking into account the strategies and incentives of these actors in their interactions. In recent years, a series of reforms in health governance have been initiated. Some progresses have been achieved. For the next stage of health reform, issues including how to further reform the governance structure of medical institutions and how to improve resource allocation in the health system are critical.

Preferences for private long-term care insurance products in a super-ageing society: A discrete choice experiment in Hong Kong.

There is a stark contrast between rising long-term care (LTC) demands and limited financing capacity in many ageing societies. Despite the theoretical potential of private insurance in LTC financing reforms, the reality is that the market remains remarkably underdeveloped. This study adopts a novel two-phase approach to quantitatively examine the market demand for private long-term care insurance (LTCI) in Hong Kong, one of the world's super-ageing societies. In order to examine people's preferences regarding private LTCI in Hong Kong, which has been exploring alternative LTC financing mechanisms to relieve the overburdened public system, we conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) in 2019 to elicit the preferences of a representative sample of 410 middle-aged adults. At first, we used data from the US National Longterm Care Survey to perform an actuarial projection for Hong Kong. In the first phase, we computed the indicative premiums based on various attributes of hypothetical private LTCI products. Undertaken in the second phase and using two econometric techniques, the DCE suggested that the most preferred hypothetical LTCI product in Hong Kong was associated with the following features: 1) a monthly benefit level of HK$20,000 or HK$25,000, 2) 3% inflation protection, and 3) 15 years of contribution. These attributes led to a monthly premium of HK$1237 (US$160)/HK$1546 (US$200) for men and HK$2150 (US$278)/HK$2687 (US$348) for women. Furthermore, we also found that the preference for LTCI products varied across people with different socioeconomic and health characteristics. These insights could inform initial market segmentation, LTCI product design, and targeted marketing in the future. This paper concludes with cautious optimism regarding the market demand for private LTCI in Hong Kong, and recommends concrete policy instruments to nurture the LTCI market, including information campaign, premium subsidies, and tax benefits.

An unintended consequence of provider payment reform: The case of capitation grants in the National Health Insurance reform of Indonesia.

One of the most important components of the ambitious 2014 National Health Insurance reform in Indonesia is the implementation of prospective payment system known as capitation grants, paid monthly to the primary health providers based on the enrolment rate. This has ushered in additional financial resources for the health managers in resource allocations, especially in the hiring of manpower. Drawing data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (1993-2015), this paper uses difference-in-differences method to evaluate the effects of the payment method reform on the allocation of human resources for health among the primary health providers. To our surprise, there was no statistically significant change in the total number of full-time staff among the capitated facilities after the reform. However, capitation grants caused an increase in the number of full-time equivalent and part-time equivalent contract staff, but a significant decline in the number of full-time permanent staff among the urban capitated facilities. It is likely that more contract health workers were hired at the expense of full-time permanent staff among the capitated facilities in the urban regions. This unintended consequence shed light on the need to develop nuanced and contextual understanding of payment reforms in developing countries.

The medical arms race and its impact in Chinese hospitals: implications for health regulation and planning.

The rapid diffusion of medical technologies is widely recognized as a key driver of healthcare cost escalation. The excessive duplication of technologies gives rise to the so-called medical arms race. Conventional wisdom tends to explain this phenomenon by external reimbursement mechanisms and hospitals' competitive strategies, but has largely neglected the role played by health regulations that may also affect hospitals' technology adoption decisions. This study sheds new light on the medical arms race with evidence from China, which has witnessed an unprecedented expansion of big tertiary hospitals and a keen pursuit of expensive medical technologies. Chinese hospitals aggressively pursue high-tech medical equipment as an opportunistic reaction to the peculiar health regulatory environment. By analysing a panel dataset collected from Shenzhen City, this study reveals a series of important impacts of the medical arms race in Chinese public hospitals. High-tech medical equipment is found to lead to an increase in hospital revenues and patient volumes, but no significant impact is noted on unit costs. While high-tech medical equipment is associated with a discernible improvement in clinical outcomes, no contribution to hospitals' operational efficiency is noted. These findings are interpreted in the context of the broader health regulatory framework and China's public hospital reforms.

Explaining medical disputes in Chinese public hospitals: the doctor-patient relationship and its implications for health policy reforms.

In recent years China has witnessed a surge in medical disputes, including many widely reported violent riots, attacks, and protests in hospitals. This is the result of a confluence of inappropriate incentives in the health system, the consequent distorted behaviors of physicians, mounting social distrust of the medical profession, and institutional failures of the legal framework. The detrimental effects of the damaged doctor-patient relationship have begun to emerge, calling for rigorous study and serious policy intervention. Using a sequential exploratory design, this article seeks to explain medical disputes in Chinese public hospitals with primary data collected from Shenzhen City. The analysis finds that medical disputes of various forms are disturbingly widespread and reveals that inappropriate internal incentives in hospitals and the heavy workload of physicians undermine the quality of clinical encounters, which easily triggers disputes. Empirically, a heavy workload is associated with a larger number of disputes. A greater number of disputes are associated with higher-level hospitals, which can afford larger financial settlements. The resolution of disputes via the legal channel appears to be unpopular. This article argues that restoring a healthy doctor-patient relationship is no less important than other institutional aspects of health care reform.

Mental health care in China: providing services for under-treated patients.

BACKGROUND: Mental health in China is a great concern given the large number of patients and huge social and economic costs. The one-month prevalence rate of adult mental disorder in China is about 17.5%. Over 170 million adults have one or more types of mental disorder. Of this, 16 million people are estimated to have serious mental diseases. Over 90% of patients with serious mental diseases in China have not been given proper medical treatment. Over 60% of suicide cases in China are associated with mental disorders and suicide is the most significant reason for death between 19 and 34 years old in China. AIMS OF THE STUDY: This paper reviews the mental health care condition in China and discusses policy implications, given current import issues for mental health care. METHOD: We review research literature for mental health care in China and collect reports from various published sources. RESULTS: Under-supply of the mental health services is the most pivotal issue for policymakers. The utilization of mental health care services in China has increased by double digits in recent years. In 2011, outpatient visits for mental health care were over 27 million. The situation is aggravated by the lack of qualified doctors and the shortage of physical infrastructures such as wards and equipment, leading to many patients with mental disorders being under-treated and under-reported. There are only 1.46 psychiatrists per 100,000 people and 15 beds per 100,000 people. Current government input for mental health in China accounts for less than 1% of total health expenditure. According to the 12th Five-Year Program (2011-2015), the Chinese government will increase its spending on the prevention and treatment of mental health care. The mental health law has been passed by the National People's Congress in October, 2012 and will come into effect on May 1st, 2013. The financial coverage of patients with mental diseases and relevant regulations for involuntary admission are still being debated. DISCUSSION: Three more issues are discussed. First, the lack of provision of mental health care for vulnerable groups is serious. Second, the opportunistic behavior of both patients and suppliers of mental health care should be addressed. Thirdly, the extraordinary high share of involuntarily admitted patients should be reduced. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVISION AND USE: Mental health care provided in primary care clinics and community is both complement and substitutable for hospital care and should be supported for government to relieve the undersupply condition. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICIES: First, government should increase financial support for mental health care provision. Second, mental health care provided at community level should be supported and carefully designed by government. IMPLICATION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Future research should focus on two issues. First, how mental health care services can be provided more efficiently at community level? Second, how can a national mental health care law be helpful to reduce the number of involuntarily admitted patients?