Young cancer patients undergo infusions at Beijing Children's Hospital. The number of children with cancer in China had reached 220,000 by 2014. [Ren Fangyan/For China Daily] Imported drugs are no longer subject to tariffs and VAT has been slashed in efforts to make medication more affordable, as Wang Xiaodong reports. The cost of imported cancer drugs is expected to fall dramatically as a result of recent government measures, according to the National Health Commission. On May 1, import tariffs were lifted on 103 of the 138 antineoplastic drugs - which can prevent or slow the growth of tumors - available on the Chinese market, and the value added tax levied on them was also reduced significantly. Authorities will also adopt measures to lower costs, such as price negotiations with manufacturers, greater use of centralized government procurement and the inclusion of a wider range of antineoplastic drugs in the national healthcare insurance program, Zeng Yixin, vice-minister in charge of the commission, told a media briefing last month. The moves are aimed at reducing the heavy financial burden that inadequate medical insurance cover can impose on some cancer patients, especially as the disease is a major cause of poverty in rural areas, the commission said. A report published last month by the Cancer Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences showed that more than 3.8 million new cases are reported in China every year. Cancer has become the leading threat to people's lives and health because of a number of causes - including the aging population, industrialization and unhealthy lifestyles - and the incidence of the disease is rising, Zeng said. Although new, effective antineoplastic drugs are available, some patented drugs are extremely expensive, and that places a heavy financial burden on patients. custom livestrong braceletsprintable wristbandswristband designlivestrong bracelet
Artificial intelligence will penetrate China's healthcare sector more extensively in the coming years, according to a report by 51CTO, an information technology company in Beijing. This year, the value of AI applications in the healthcare sector is expected to exceed 13 billion yuan ($1.9 billion), a year-on-year rise of more than 40 percent, and the figure is likely to rise to 20 billion yuan next year, the report said. The report, released in June, was based on responses to 5,465 questionnaires sent to hospitals, businesses engaged in AI and healthcare, and investment companies across the country. It shows that more than 78 percent of the country's healthcare providers are either using, or are planning to use, AI, while more than 76 percent of providers believe AI will be used extensively in healthcare in the future. The technology will be applied extensively in three major fields in the near future - wearable devices, the analysis of medical graphics such as X-rays, and dictation software to help doctors write reports and notes, the report said. The integration of AI and healthcare has great potential in China as a result of the unbalanced distribution of healthcare resources and the large number of patients. In recent years, AI has developed massively, which will promote its use in the healthcare sector. However, the development of the healthcare sector faces obstacles, such as a lack of adequate supervision, immature technology, poor safety levels and a lack of exchanges between researchers and developers, the report said.
