Beijing, Aug 26, 2026 — China issued a 10-point directive to overhaul its family doctor contract system, expanding services from grassroots clinics to tier-two and tier-three public hospitals and private facilities while mandating artificial intelligence integration across primary care networks.

Policy Snapshot

Attribute	Detail
Legal basis	State Council Government Work Report; Guo Ban Fa [2026] No. 11; Yi Bao Fa [2026] No. 7
Document	Notice on Deepening “Six Expansions” to Solidify Family Doctor Contract Services
Core focus	Tiered diagnosis and treatment; primary care strengthening
Total measures	10 specific requirements
Key tech mandate	“AI+” enabled contract services

The Six Expansions

The directive centers on six structural coverage extensions:

1. Specialist inclusion — Contract services expand from general practitioners to clinical and TCM specialists at primary institutions.
2. Hospital integration — Services extend from grassroots facilities to tier-two and tier-three public hospitals.
3. Private sector entry — Private medical institutions are progressively incorporated into the contract network.
4. Individual contracts — Shift from team-based to individual physician-patient contracts.
5. Disease scope — Broaden from chronic disease management to combined chronic and infectious disease co-management.
6. Flexible terms — Replace fixed contract cycles with adaptable durations based on patient needs.

Additional Directives

• Gatekeeping mandate — Family doctors assume first-contact responsibility; contracted residents must be prioritized at primary clinics and referred upward only when clinically indicated.
• Segmented services — Differentiated contracts for community residents, workplace populations, and general groups, with family-unit enrollment encouraged.
• Content optimization — Tailored service packages for key community groups, workplace cohorts, and general populations.
• Digital enablement — Accelerate “AI+” contract services, optimize the national health information platform, and deploy artificial intelligence to assist family doctors, serve contracted populations, and streamline administration under safety-controlled conditions.

Policy Impact Analysis

The directive operationalizes Beijing’s broader tiered-care reform by tightening the gatekeeping role of family doctors—a structural pivot designed to divert patient flow from overloaded tertiary hospitals to primary facilities. The inclusion of tier-two and tier-three hospitals alongside private clinics signals a unified primary-care network rather than an isolated grassroots system.

The AI mandate is particularly notable. By formally embedding artificial intelligence into family doctor workflows and national health platforms, regulators are betting on technology to close the capacity gap at the primary level, where physician shortages have historically undermined contract-service quality. If executed at scale, the “AI+” push could reduce administrative burdens on grassroots clinicians and standardize chronic-disease monitoring across provinces.

Implementation Requirements

Local health commissions are instructed to align the new measures with previously issued home-hospital-bed service guidelines and patient-experience enhancement policies, ensuring integrated rollout rather than fragmented compliance.

Forward-Looking Statement

Healthcare analysts expect the 10-point plan to accelerate consolidation of China’s primary-care market, creating partnership opportunities for private clinics and health-tech vendors that can demonstrate AI-enabled diagnostic or patient-management tools. The mandate for tier-two and tier-three hospital participation may gradually blur institutional boundaries, potentially reshaping referral revenue streams. With the 15th Five-Year Plan cycle underway, the directive sets the regulatory foundation for a nationwide family doctor network that could serve as the data and patient-flow backbone for future value-based care pilots.-China Health Reform Pulse

Policy Source: https://www.nhc.gov.cn/jws/c100072/202608/08427cd5ccb647e6bbf90dc196017d0f.shtml

Dalian, Aug 24, 2026 — The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Health Working Group convened its second 2026 meeting in Dalian, Liaoning Province, drawing roughly 170 delegates from 20 economies to discuss regional health integration, as China pushed for deeper cooperation on healthy aging and digital health.

China’s Pitch

Zheng Zhe, vice minister of China’s National Health Commission (NHC), told the Aug 23 opening session via video link that health cooperation remains a foundational enabler of Asia-Pacific economic and trade ties. He urged member economies to converge on priority health issues and introduced China’s 15th Five-Year Plan health targets and its health-priority development strategy, stating Beijing’s readiness to help build a “healthy, resilient and inclusive” Asia-Pacific.

Agenda & Dialogues

The two-day program covered:

• Healthy aging and elderly-care systems
• Universal health coverage financing and access
• Digital and intelligent health infrastructure
• Traditional medicine integration
• Health security and pandemic preparedness
• Health industry innovation and investment

A parallel track hosted 16 policy dialogues and seminars, including sessions on brain health promotion and healthy aging acceleration.

Attendance

Delegation	Representation
Economies	20 APEC member economies
Total delegates	~170 officials and experts
China presence	NHC International Department; National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine; relevant agencies and specialists

Policy Implications

Zheng’s emphasis on the 15th Five-Year Plan signals Beijing’s effort to align domestic health modernization with regional diplomacy. The prominence of traditional medicine and digital health on the agenda mirrors China’s twin strategic goals: elevating Traditional Chinese Medicine globally and exporting digital health tools honed during its universal coverage rollout. With the APEC leaders’ summit scheduled for late 2026, the working group’s output is likely to shape minister-level commitments on cross-border health data standards and elderly-care protocols.

Forward-Looking Statement

Health officials expect the Dalian discussions to feed into a broader APEC health ministers’ declaration later this year, potentially codifying regional cooperation on aging populations and digital health interoperability. The strong turnout—170 delegates across 20 economies—suggests sustained post-pandemic momentum for multilateral health coordination, even as member states navigate broader trade frictions. China is positioned to lead a proposed regional healthy-aging initiative, leveraging its domestic policy framework as a blueprint for Asia-Pacific counterparts facing similar demographic headwinds.-China Health Reform Pulse

Policy Source: https://www.nhc.gov.cn/gjhzs/c100032/202608/cf965e410dc642c7b6e42e20a961f6cc.shtml