Studies on Chinese Community Health Service Performance and Index

In the last decade, Chinese community health service institutions have experienced rapid development, so that 97 percent of Chinese citizens are covered under one form or another of social health insurance. Currently a comprehensive network of community health services in the cities of China has established and has gradually achieved full management integration and classification. Evaluating the performance of community health services is an important measure for a comprehensive review of the current situation of community health services, their processes and outcomes, and for improving the efficient allocation of health resources and service efficiency. This evaluation is also of great importance to improve the overall quality of health services. The main purpose of the present study was to establish a scientific, standardized community health service performance evaluation system, and to further promote the efficient and effective development of community health services. Using a variety of methods including literature research, expert discussion, expert consultation, and fuzzy evaluation, the established indicator system contains three levels of indicators across over thirty aspects of performance in providing basic health services to community residents. The application of this index could be integrated in different areas to evaluate and compare different community health service institutions scientifically.

Professor Yaping Du is the Deputy Director of Institute of Social and Family Medicine, Zhejiang University.  In 2005, Du received his doctor degree in Family Medicine from the University of Kiel, Germany. From 1979 to 1984, he studied clinical medicine at Zhejiang University School of Medicine and in 1993, he received a Master in Health Management from Peking Union Medical University. In 1997, Professor Du created the Department of Family Medicine in Zhejiang University and was awarded the the title of Associate Professor and Tutor for the Master program. For more than 10 years, Du has taken the lead in China for general practitioner residency training programs and has enriched the department to become the top academic institution awarding master’s and doctoral degrees in family medicine.   During Professor Du’s more than 27 years at Zhejiang University School of Medicine, he has established a laboratory of digital and information technology in primary healthcare, and was the Program Instructor of more than ten programs from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, International Cooperation and Zhejiang Province. Du has published more than 30 articles and 10 textbooks and has guided more than 30 postgraduates. Currently Professor Du is the senior expert of the MoH (Minister of Health) in exploring human resources for community health service, councilor of Family Medicine Educational Guide Committee of the MoE (Minister of Education), and Vice-Chairman and General Secretary of Zhejiang Provincial Society of Family Medicine.