For stable chronic disease, explore primary care instead of using a tertiary hospital only for repeat prescriptions
Chinese policy increasingly directs tertiary hospitals toward critical illness and difficult, complex conditions. Routine follow-up for common illnesses and clearly diagnosed, stable chronic disease is to be reduced gradually where appropriate. Specialist teams' ordinary clinics are to extend into primary care. Depending on local implementation, obtaining a routine prescription at a major hospital may become less convenient.
What it takes
No cost to reconsider the route. Changing the habit of trusting only large hospitals may take effort.
What you may gain
Tertiary hospitals are to focus on urgent and critical cases and difficult, complex disease, strengthen referral consultation and inpatient services, and gradually reduce ordinary follow-up for common conditions and stable, clearly diagnosed chronic disease as appropriate. Higher-level hospitals in integrated alliances are to extend specialist teams' ordinary clinics into primary-care institutions, bringing those services closer to the community.
Context & considerations
This describes a policy direction and its expected effect on ordinary appointments, rather than an instruction to transfer every patient immediately. Eligible stable chronic conditions can receive prescriptions covering up to 12 weeks in primary care; see chapter 16.
Research & references
General Office of the State Council (2026). Measures to accelerate development of the tiered diagnosis and treatment system. Alongside the tertiary-hospital changes, higher-level alliance hospitals are to establish primary-care clinics for hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other common and chronic conditions, providing diagnosis, treatment, and health management and extending specialist-team clinics into primary care. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202604/content_7065031.htm