China Times | Medical technology investment accounts for only 1.2%! The State Council has decided to launch a pilot project to enhance the clinical research and achievement transformation capabilities of high-level hospitals

On June 29, Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council presided over an executive meeting of the State Council, calling for improving the level of medical and health services through reform and innovation in the efficient coordination of epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, so as to better protect the health of the people. At the same time, it was decided to carry out pilot projects to enhance the clinical research and achievement transformation capabilities of high-level hospitals, promote the improvement of medical and health service levels, and support the construction of research platform bases.

According to statistics from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, China has a population of 1.4 billion, but the investment in medical technology only accounts for 1.2%, far lower than the 44% in the United States and 33% in Europe. In fact, enhancing the clinical research and achievement transformation capabilities of high-level hospitals has been a major policy that the national health sector has continuously implemented in recent years. Previously, departments such as the General Office of the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Health Commission, the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the National Disease Prevention and Control Center have all organized the issuance of relevant policy documents. So, why does the national level attach such importance to enhancing the clinical research and achievement transformation capabilities of high-level hospitals?

In response, Liang Jialin, convenor of the Population Health Strategy Communication Committee of the Chinese Population Society, told the China Times: 'Large research hospitals, as institutions that possess vast amounts of patient medical and multi-omics data, have the opportunity to gain significant opportunities in scientific research capabilities and revenue generation through the national pilot program for enhancing clinical research and outcome transformation capabilities.'

Chen Linhai, Deputy Secretary-General of the Private Hospitals Branch of the Chinese Hospital Association, told the Huaxia Times reporter that 'The national level has decided to carry out a pilot project to enhance the clinical research and achievement transformation capabilities of high-level hospitals. The aim is to select institutions with excellent scientific research capabilities from public tertiary hospitals, establish large-scale clinical research and achievement transformation centers, thereby promoting the localization process in this field. After improving the scientific research structure, China will gradually achieve full coverage in the life science industry.'

In recent years, enhancing the clinical research and achievement transformation capabilities of high-level hospitals has become a frequently discussed keyword in China's healthcare industry.

Unlike previous times, this regular State Council meeting pointed out that pilot projects to enhance clinical research and achievement transformation capabilities will be carried out in some high-level hospitals. In five areas—implementing scientific research autonomy, salary incentives, ownership of scientific and technological achievements and their distribution of benefits, procurement of scientific research instruments and equipment, and so on—the same policies as those supporting innovation in universities and research institutes will be adopted. In particular, there will be an increase in funding for clinical and translational research, simplification of scientific research and funding management approval processes, reports, etc., while support will also be provided for the construction of research platform bases.

In fact, this concept has not been elevated to the national level for the first time. In 2019, the National Health Commission held a series of press conferences under the theme 'A Tour of the 13th Five-Year Plan - Towards Universal Health', focusing on introducing the specific implementation details around the 'National Medical Service and Medical Quality and Safety Report 2019'.

In addition, departments such as the General Office of the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Health Commission, the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the National Disease Prevention and Control Center have all organized the issuance of relevant policy documents. On June 4, 2021, the General Office of the State Council issued the 'Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Public Hospitals', once again placing emphasis on strengthening clinical specialty construction, proposing that 'the development of specialties drives the improvement of diagnosis and treatment capabilities and levels'.

On July 1, 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Health Commission, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the National Disease Prevention and Control Center jointly compiled the 'Implementation Plan for the Construction of a High-Quality and Efficient Healthcare Service System during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period.' It proposes to strive to ensure that the general public enjoys fair and accessible, systematic, and continuous high-quality healthcare services nearby.

Shi Wankui, deputy director of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Business Department at Hejun Consulting, told the Huaxia Times reporter, "It is very necessary to enhance the clinical research and achievement transformation capabilities of high-level hospitals. This is conducive to promoting innovation, expanding the group of innovative talents, and facilitating cross-border integration between frontline diagnosis and treatment with professional research institutions, pharmaceutical companies, etc."

In the early days of the founding of New China, the average life expectancy in our country was only 35 years. By 2020, it had increased to 77.3 years, with maternal mortality and infant mortality rates falling to 16.9 per 100,000 and 5.4 per 1,000, respectively. Our main health indicators rank among the top in countries with medium to high incomes.

In recent years, with the continuous advancement of deepening the reform of the medical and health system, hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, and modern hospital management systems have been continuously improved, significantly enhancing the capacity of medical services. National healthcare insurance, centralized volume-based procurement, healthcare negotiation, drug supply guarantee, comprehensive supervision systems, etc., which benefit the country and its people, have basically established the framework of China's basic healthcare system serving all citizens. The problems of 'difficulty in seeing a doctor' and 'high cost of seeing a doctor' are gradually being resolved, and it is becoming a reality that people can afford to see a doctor.

Even so, there are still some urgent issues to be resolved in the development of China's healthcare industry. Public data from the National Health Commission and the Big Data Development Department of the National Information Center show that from a supply-side perspective, structural problems in the healthcare service system remain prominent.

Chen Linhai believes that 'this new policy can be regarded as an extension of the tiered diagnosis and treatment medical reform system, aiming to emphasize the integrated functions of public medicine at the top echelons in clinical strength, improving the integration of teaching, research, industry, and academia. This is intended to help China establish its own scientific research data, reshape its scientific research capabilities, and combine medical engineering with R&D to develop cutting-edge pharmaceuticals and medical devices.'

The reporter learned that compared to universities and research institutes, public hospitals are subject to stricter anti-corruption management restrictions, resulting in a lower rate of scientific research achievement transformation compared to these institutions; moreover, the overall level of clinical research achievement transformation in China is also lower than that of developed countries. According to statistics from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, with a population of 1.4 billion, China only allocates 1.2% of its medical technology investment, far less than the 44% in the United States and 33% in Europe. China's independent R&D capability for innovative drugs is weak, and the localization rate of large-scale medical devices needs to be improved. The patent ratio (8%) of China's biopharmaceutical industry is much lower than that of the United States (48%) and Japan (12%).

Liang Jialin told the reporter from China Times: 'Life sciences are the science of the 21st century, just as information sciences were in the 20th century. Large research hospitals, as institutions that possess massive amounts of patient medical and multi-omics data, have the opportunity to gain significant opportunities in enhancing their scientific research capabilities and revenue-generating abilities through pilot projects aimed at improving national clinical research and outcomes transformation capabilities. For the leading (research-oriented) echelons within public hospitals, the effective incentive mechanism for the transformation of clinical scientific and technological achievements (i.e., 'patenting to support healthcare') can boost the return of diagnosis and treatment services to a public welfare nature.'

Shi Wankui stated, 'The State Council has specifically clarified the encouragement for doctors and departments to carry out scientific research. In addition to performance incentives for talent and innovation, we believe that related support policies such as evaluation, transformation, promotion, and financing of innovative achievements will be introduced gradually. Hospitals with distinctive innovative achievements will have priority in gaining multiple benefits such as low costs, high brand recognition, patient aggregation for a single disease type, and advantages in scientific research data, directly supporting the enhancement of hospital competitiveness.'

*This article is reprinted from 'Huaxia Times', with reporters Guo Yilin and Yu Na. The original title was 'Medical Technology Investment Accounts for Only 1.2%! The State Council Decides to Launch a Pilot Project to Enhance the Clinical Research and Achievement Transformation Capabilities of High-Level Hospitals'.