Medical union: the pathway to an efficient healthcare system in China

[...]the medical union board encourages sharing of healthcare resources such as manpower, facilities, education and research medical data among hospitals within the medical union network. The first '1' represents the provincial tertiary hospital, the other '1' represents the municipal tertiary hospital, and the 'X' represents either secondary/primary medical institutions, community health service centres, rehabilitation homes or nursing homes. 4 The idea is to encourage patients to seek primary care at a primary/secondary care hospital instead of a tertiary hospital. The ultimate goal of the new medical reform is to improve patient care across China. [...]with the establishment of the medical union and an effective hierarchical treatment system, an ideal healthcare system can be achieved for China.