Hierarchical Diagnosis and Treatment

According to the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction of Hierarchical Diagnosis and Treatment System issued by the General Office of China’s State Council in 2015, the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment refers to the system of classifying medical institutions into various levels according to the severity of illness and the degree of treatment, so that they may cooperate with each other by undertaking the treatment of different diseases. It aims at the formation of a reasonable medical treatment pattern where patients will be firstly treated at community medical centers and then transferred accordingly to the hospitals of higher levels for specific treatment of either acute or chronic diseases. The establishment of the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system is regarded as the fundamental strategy to reconstruct China’s medical and healthcare service system and to improve its service efficiency.