Forum focuses on medical care for the elderly

The recently held 4th Fourth Health Policy Decision Makers Forum Asia-Pacific, an international platform for stakeholders in health policy and strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, focused on innovative solutions for eldercare.

The annual forum, organized by the China Center for Health Economic Research at Peking University, and the ESSEC Institute of Health Economics and Management Asia-Pacific, one of the world's top management schools, attracted around 150 participants from Asia and Europe.

About 30 speakers from a range of sectors and backgrounds, including Bernhard F. Schwartlander, the WHO Representative in China, and Zheng Hong, the director of Pharmaceutical Affairs, National Health and Family Planning Commission, spoke at the event.

Among the issues discussed were different countries' experiences related to eldercare, including Australia's approach to healthy aging and Japan's approach to healthcare funding.

Health promotion policies, healthcare at eldercare institutions, e-health solutions and patients' access to medication under drug reimbursement policies were also discussed.

Gordon Liu, a Yangtze River Scholar Professor of Economics at the Peking University National School of Development, says that China has a different model compared with other countries when it comes to aging, and also higher economic and technological levels, and somehow this provides advantages for China when it comes to coping with the problem.