The National Healthcare Security Administration is piloting a unified medical insurance information system nationwide that will allow people to acquire electronic certificates for the long distance settlement of medical bills.

A national medical insurance information platform is to be launched to provide a unified service, which is expected to be completed by 2020.

Over the past two decades, China has established a national medical security system that covers the entire population and the scale of the medical insurance fund has continually expanded.

The informatization and standardization of the medical insurance system will also ensure it is better managed. There are still many inefficiencies in the system such as different medical insurance standards and disconnected information about patients.

A unified medical insurance information system is conducive to promoting the openness and transparency of medical treatment costs and the prices of medical consumables.

It will also deepen medical insurance payment reform and improve the purchasing system for pharmaceutical drugs. In addition, medical insurance supervision will be strengthened thanks to the application of big data analysis and smart technology.