At the press briefing of the 2019 China Stroke Conference held in Beijing on May 17, it was announced that China will implement a project organized by the National Health Commission to prevent millions of stroke-induced disability cases. “Cutting millions of new disability cases project” (hereinafter, “the project”) aims to improve the level of stroke prevention and treatment in China by reinforcing blood pressure control management, popularizing appropriate technologies for stroke prevention and treatment, strengthening policy support, advancing the building of regional stroke prevention and treatment systems, and optimizing public education.

According to Longde Wang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and deputy director of Stroke Prevention and Control Project Committee of the National Health Commission, "it is necessary for citizens over 30 years old to have their blood pressure taken annually. We will set up self-service blood pressure measuring stations in the offices of institutions, agencies and companies, and crowded places to facilitate blood pressure taking. Meanwhile, we will actively promote the establishment of special funds to equip primary and secondary healthcare facilities with appropriate equipment and personnel." In terms of blood pressure control, “the project” will make blood pressure check a routine in the outpatient department among patients over 30 years old. “The project” will also launch a “know your blood pressure campaign” among citizens aged 30 or above to encourage them to keep an eye on their pressure blood.

“The project” will popularize appropriate technologies for stroke prevention and treatment in three steps: by 2020, in principle, all tertiary general hospitals and specialty hospitals for cerebrovascular diseases will be able to perform standardized thrombolysis and thrombectomy procedures, and secondary general hospitals with stroke centers will routinely provide thrombolysis; by 2022, in principle, all municipalities and counties with a population of 300,000 or more will have at least one secondary general hospital that routinely provides thrombolysis. In principle, by 2022, all municipalities and counties with a population of 300,000 or more will have at least one secondary general hospital that routinely performs thrombolysis, and thrombectomy will be a routine service in at least 20% of secondary general hospitals with stroke centers; by 2025, in principle, all secondary general hospitals will be able to routinely perform thrombolysis, and thrombectomy will be a routine service in at least 30% of secondary general hospitals with stroke centers. “The project” will coordinate the training and assessment of the treatment techniques to ensure that the targets are met.

In terms of policy support, first of all, improve the supervision of healthcare facility indicators by gradually excluding the essential drugs and consumables for thrombolysis and thrombectomy services from the calculation of overall drug cost ratio and consumable cost ratio of hospitals, in a bid to encourage qualified healthcare facilities to devote more efforts to thrombolysis and thrombectomy services. Secondly, all healthcare facilities should consult with pricing authorities as soon as possible to set clear prices for thrombolysis and thrombectomy services, fully reflecting the value of medical personnel's labor. Thirdly, healthcare facilities should consult with the medical insurance department as soon as possible to include emergency thrombolysis and related services in the coverage of medical insurance reimbursement, and fees will be paid by the type of disease. Hospitals are encouraged to implement the policy of “treatment first and payment later” among acute stroke patients. Stroke patients who cannot afford the services or whose identity is unknown can apply for disease emergency relief fund in accordance with the regulations to avoid delays in treatment due to cost.
(Source: www.rmzxb.com.cn)