The National Health Commission held a press conference this afternoon to brief on efforts to promote the high-quality development of integrated medical and elderly care.

Wang Haidong, Director of the Department of Aging Health of the National Health Commission, introduced that the supply of integrated medical and elderly care services in China has been continuously expanded. Through years of practice, four relatively mature service models have taken shape: contracted cooperation between medical and health institutions and elderly care institutions; medical and health institutions providing integrated medical and elderly care services; elderly care institutions providing medical and health services in accordance with laws and regulations; and medical and health services extended to communities and families. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the state launched a project to build the capacity of medical and health institutions to provide integrated medical and elderly care services, supporting eligible medical and health institutions in building integrated medical and elderly care service facilities and expanding the supply of such services. To date, 87,000 pairs of medical and health institutions and elderly care institutions across the country have signed cooperation agreements; there are more than 7,800 integrated medical and elderly care institutions that hold qualifications as medical and health institutions and are registered as elderly care institutions, with a total of 2 million beds.

The quality of integrated medical and elderly care services has been effectively improved across all regions. China has organized and carried out a three-year action to improve the service quality of integrated medical and elderly care institutions, guiding all regions to provide services in a standardized manner. Demonstration projects for integrated medical and elderly care have been implemented, with Shandong Province designated as a demonstration province, and 100 demonstration counties (cities and districts) and 99 demonstration institutions named. A new major, "Integrated Medical and Elderly Care and Management," has been added to the undergraduate programs of higher vocational education, and a series of specialized textbooks have been compiled. A national training project to enhance the capacity of integrated medical and elderly care personnel has been implemented, training more than 100,000 practitioners in this field. Pilot programs for remote collaborative services in aging health and integrated medical and elderly care have been carried out to provide better services for older adults.