Interviewee: Wu Hao, Director of Beijing Fengtai District Fangzhuang Community Health Care Center and professor at the Capital Medical University

Last year’s health care reform in Beijing has made life easier for citizens. An elderly man told me that, instead of queuing at a big hospital every month to get his blood pressure medicine, he could now go to the nearest community health care center to pick up his prescription, which was much more convenient.

Problems still persist in today’s primary-level health care system, such as talent loss in the system or patients’ prevailing unwillingness to go to a community-level health care center. The State Council has recently put forward policies and provided incentives to encourage more people to be trained as general practitioners. I call for an urgent implementation of these policies, to create a better work environment for primary-level health care service providers and general practitioners.