Shanghai will elevate the role of the community healthcare centers to comprehensively build up their capacities in basic medical treatment, rehabilitation, public health services and health management, said Wen Daxiang, director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health, at a news conference on Jan 17.

On average, each center is expected to be equipped with 682 types of medicines, marking an increase of 66 types or about 82.6 percent of commonly used medications for common and chronic diseases used in second- and third-tier hospitals.

At the same time, the city will prioritize opening registration slots at second- and third-tier hospitals to patients recommended by community healthcare centers, Wen said.

Additionally, the city will improve healthcare for key populations, including the elderly, children, and those with mental health or chronic conditions, through special initiatives such as nutrition improvement, cognitive disorders prevention, and mental health services.

Efforts will also be made to expand healthcare services by advancing chronic diseases management, enhancing pediatric and mental health care, improving hospital facilities, and increasing the availability of automated defibrillator devices.

"Shanghai is aiming to improve healthcare accessibility, quality, and infrastructure to show its care and contribute to a healthier city," said Wen.

On a higher level, he said that Shanghai will move forward to enhance its medical standards by advancing the construction of national medical centers and key clinical specialties. The city will expand capacity of regional medical centers and build district-level demonstration hospitals.

More importantly, it is set to integrate resources within medical alliances for unified drug catalogs and standardized services. It will also establish centers for collaborative traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment of complex diseases and further develop community-based traditional Chinese medicine services.

Last but not the least, he noted that Shanghai will enhance its public health service system in building a network that will effectively alert on risks of infectious diseases. It will also make the system ready for responding to health emergencies with medical treatments and resources as well as other preparations.

Gu Yingjie contributed to this story.