OBJECTIVETo investigate the qualifications and current situations of the medical and health institutions and certified doctors for providing occupational disease diagnosis in China and to provide a reference for developing relevant policies.

METHODSWork reports and questionnaires survey were used to investigate the qualifications of all medical and health institutions and certified doctors for providing occupational disease diagnosis in China and their acceptance and diagnosis of occupational disease cases from 2006 to 2010. The rate for the work reports was 100%, and the response rate for the questionnaires was 71.0%.

RESULTSBy the end of 2010, in the 31 provincial-level regions (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) in China, there had been 503 medical and health institutions which were qualified for providing occupational disease diagnosis, including 207 centers for disease control and prevention, accounting for 41.2%, 145 general hospitals, accounting for 28.8%, 69 enterprise-owned hospitals, accounting for 13.7%, and 64 institutes or centers for occupational disease prevention and control, accounting for 12.7%; 4986 certified doctors got the qualification for providing occupational disease diagnosis, with 9.4 certified doctors on average in each institution, and there was 0.65 certified doctor per 100 000 employees. In addition, 16.5% of the institutions got all the qualifications for diagnosing 9 occupational diseases, and 17.1% of the institutions got the qualification for diagnosing one occupational disease. Each certified doctor accepted diagnosis of 16.8 cases of occupational diseases on average every year.

CONCLUSIONA national occupational disease diagnosis network has been established in China, but the imbalance in regional distribution and specialty programs still exists among the qualified medical and health institutions and certified doctors. It is essential to further strengthen the development of regional qualified medical and health institutions and training of qualified doctors.

Accountable Care Organizations ; standards ; China ; Occupational Diseases ; diagnosis ; Physicians ; standards

The 20th National Assembly of Korea was called to order on April 13, 2016. The National Assembly is invested with the authority to play a significant role in influencing healthcare policy. There are many pending issues in healthcare policy that the Assembly needs to address in this term. The low fertility rate and population aging that Korea faces can exert a major impact on the healthcare system, as aging will lead to an expansion of non-communicable diseases, which can place a high burden on society. This requires strengthening the social security system, including National Health Insurance. A paradigm shift is necessary, in which healthcare providers are organized in the National Health Insurance using approaches such as the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and Patient_Centered Medical Home (PCMH), and people are offered choices similar to the US Medicare Advantage Program. Additionally, it is essential that healthcare accessibility is enhanced by covering catastrophic medical costs and guaranteeing patient safety through quality improvement so that healthcare costs are kept within an affordable range. Therefore, the 20th National Assembly must overcome differences in ideology to improve the healthcare system with the aim of promoting national health.
Accountable Care Organizations ; Aging ; Birth Rate ; Delivery of Health Care ; Health Care Costs ; Health Personnel ; Health Policy* ; Humans ; Korea ; Medicare Part C ; National Health Programs ; Patient Safety ; Patient-Centered Care ; Quality Improvement ; Social Security