China launches clinic inspections

BEIJING - A month-long inspection of medical institutions based in counties, townships and villages will be conducted to boost the quality of services available in grassroots clinics, China's top health commission announced Tuesday.

Scheduled to begin on August 16, the inspection will focus on hospitals' qualifications in terms of the settings of departments and medical staff and equipment deployment, as well as the scope of services they offer, according to a statement from the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

It will also review whether hospital staff are practicing medicine in accordance with rules, medical data are kept in the national standard electronic system and disinfection measures are well placed.

Staff from the health agencies of various provinces will conduct cross inspections, and inspectors will pay field visits to hospitals and clinics in selected regions in a province, combining both open and undercover investigations, the commission said.

The inspection also aims to review local governments' efforts to supervise grassroots clinics, which as a whole remains the basis and bottom end of China's health service system and directly delivers services to the masses, it said.