A Brief Introduction to the Chinese Health Care System

Abstract

The Chinese health care system is changing in response to the rapid changes in Chinese society as a whole, but several constants are helpful in understanding it. Preventive health care receives considerable attention. It is believed to be cost effective as well as health promoting. Medical health care involves Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and combinations of the two. Fee-free patients and fee-paying patients have differing options in the system. Care options also vary between the cities and the countryside. Recuperative health care plays a much more important role in China than it does in the West. Chinese media offer many magazines and broadcast programs attempting to meet the public's interest in better health.