Two strikingly different places in two lists depict the present dilemma confronting China's medical system reform.

China is the fourth largest economy in the world; however, it came the last but three amongst 191 members of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the ranking of financing and fairness of allocation in terms of medical and health systems targeting WHO members.

The Department of Social Development Research affiliated to the Development Research Center of the State Council alongside with the WHO completed a survey report on "China's reform of medical and health system."

This report indicates it is a mistake that China's current medical and health system tends to be commercialized and marketized as such an orientation deviates from basic principles of medical and health services. China's medical and health system is awaiting innovation.

Ge Yianfeng, one of the participants in the research on "China's reform of medical and health system" and deputy director of the Department of Social Development Research, revealed at the preliminary session for the China Development Forum 2006 held in Beijing on Mar. 18th that excessive utilization of the market-oriented mechanism in China's medical and health system has resulted in severely unfair health resource allocation.

Under such circumstances, high-end large urban hospitals are expanding more and more rapidly, while low-end organizations, particularly clinics in rural areas and urban communities, are gradually shrinking and even unable to survive.

Lack of necessary investment and intervention from the government are the main causes of low utilization efficiency of limited health resource in China.

Henk Bekedam, the WHO's representative in China, remarked at the above forum that at present, government funds only constitute 17% of investment in medical services while in the United States, the proportion is at least 45%, almost tripling China's figure. Because of lack of funds, some sectors of China's medical and health system are difficult to function properly.