Xi’an City, in the mountains of western China, was the origin of the ancient Silk Road – one that brought prosperity and stature to the People’s Republic. Today, I represent INMED at the China National Congress on General Practice – an event that represents great potential for health prosperity and for the stature of primary care servants.
Through sweeping research, primary care emphasizing continuity and comprehensiveness has long been documented as more cost effective and resulting in better health outcomes in comparison with periodic care by multiple sub-specialists.
The development of healthcare in China has many parallels with of the United States. But the pace is different. Policy makers in the United States begin substantially supporting primary care in the 1980s, and now 40 years later the field is valued and well-established. In China, such policies were only implemented in the last few years. But just like China’s economic development, watch for Chinese primary care to rapidly create a Silk Road influence over the entire vast nation.