Li highlights high-quality healthcare

Scientific spirit, dedication will raise level of medical expertise, premier says

Premier Li Keqiang emphasized on Monday the importance of offering the public more high-quality healthcare services, with stronger measures to improve the level of services provided in the nation's central and western regions and at the grassroots and community levels.

In remarks made at a symposium at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, the premier reiterated the need to develop Internet Plus healthcare to bring high-caliber medical services to remote areas.

Li inspected the hospital, one of China's most prestigious medical institutions, before the symposium. He commended the medical experts at the hospital for their dedication and encouraged them to pass on their experience in medical treatment and talent training.

He also praised the hospital for treating a large number of patients, especially those in severe conditions, over its 100-year history. The hospital should continue to amplify its fine traditions and continue to be equal to the trust from patients and their families, he said.

At the symposium, Li noted that the demand for healthcare services has been on the rise with improvements in living standards, saying that medical workers must put patients first and offer their expertise with a loving heart.

He also underscored the importance of scientific spirit and professionalism in enhancing medical expertise. Medical workers should devote themselves to the cause of healthcare with a meticulous and pragmatic spirit and look to build up their skills through the accumulation of experience from every case, he said.

It is important to step up international exchanges and cooperation to keep exploring new techniques in clinical diagnosis and treatment, new pharmaceuticals and new treatment methods, he said.

Li pledged support policies for high-caliber hospitals that would be on par with higher-education institutions and research institutions, saying that the hospitals must eye international standards, focus on demand for medical treatment and try to take the lead in clinical medicine research and the application of research findings.

Regarding the quick mutation of the novel coronavirus, Li called for unremitting efforts to optimize treatment methods, improve vaccines, bolster the research and development of effective medicine and further improve medical treatment of patients.

The premier also underlined the necessity for deepening reform in healthcare and medicine systems, ensuring completion of reform agendas for the establishment of modern hospital management systems, and making healthcare cheaper and more accessible to the public.