Summary
The coronavirus epidemic has made public health infrastructure a focal topic in China. To this end, China Philanthropist Magazine recently interviewed Professor William Hsiao, member of the American Academy of Sciences and a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He highlighted that while China has renewed its proposal to build a strong public health system after COVID-19 is under control, it is important for experts to make analysis and suggestions. In other countries, a high-level team is usually composed of the most qualified and unprejudiced experts, and given almost a year to figure out what happened and the causes and effects, before making policy recommendations. China should clarify the facts and problems related to the new coronavirus–disease prevention, the medical response, including what was incomplete in the information system, and the reporting system from bottom to top–before public health reform policies can be introduced. Only by clarifying the facts and problems can we study and promulgate an effective public health reform policy. And after the COVID-19 epidemic, China should strengthen basic medical care instead of building more top tier hospitals.
Resources
- Read the full article in Chinese here in China Philanthropist Magazine (June 17, 2020).