Editorial - Journal of Public Health Policy and Planning (2018) Volume 2, Issue 4

Healthcare paradigm shift in China: An accelerated combination of takingresponsibility, honest accreditation and innovation against fake vaccines.

Zhizhong Ye¹, Zhiyi Zhang¹, Huijiong Zeng¹, Yue Zhang^1,2*

¹Shenzhen Futian hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Sanming Program of Medicine in Shenzhen, China

²Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, the First Clinical College of Harbin Medical University, China

Corresponding Author:

Dr. Yue Zhang
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology
The First Clinical college of Harbin medical University, China
Email: toronto101@163.com

Accepted date: 24 December 2018

Editorial

After investigation of the Changchun Biotech vaccine scandal [1] a mixture of neglects, misconduct, and fraud, President Xi Jinping ordered senior officials to resign because of misconduct in overseeing the substandard vaccines, forcing them to take responsibility. Xi emphasized drug safety, re-vaccinating more children and promising severe punishment for subsequent violations. This indicates a paradigm-shift towards responsibility, honest accreditation, innovation and a dual-track system.

Responsibility

Previously, Chinese news sources were somehow controlled so scandals stayed hidden. Xi‘s announcement suggests a new era of transparency and taking-responsibility. In general, China propaganda is under the strict control, no mention even internet national scandal outcry.

Rather, this reflects the determination of our nation top leaders to execute the rule of “taking-responsibility” on government officials.

Honest accreditation

Big data systems are needed to combat fake documentation nationally. Xi and China has made big data in healthcare a priority, building massive regional data centers to house medical records, accreditation documents, etc. Online payments have thwarted cash thieves; hopefully, implementation of big data will prevent fraud and corruption. Most ambitious, is China’s push into precision medical records, business, academia, hobby, honest and credit principle recordsall infos to tailor future responding protocol or treatments based on a personal profile.

Gearing up big-data platform and executive power from China government may be what gives China the edge to hinder fraud and fake documentations. Today, making payments via WeChat/AliPay has intimidated cash-thieves.

Innovation

China has been an innovator for centuries, starting with Emperor Yu’s plan to dredge rivers to drain flood-waters rather than damming them [2]. Recently, China’s scientific and technological innovation has lagged. Historical innovations relied on individuals. Now, China’s government has promised to support innovation nationally [3].

One reason for vaccine scandals is lack of innovations in vaccine production but companies pursued unmet profits. Too often, “success” has meant political power, wealth rather than fairness and innovation. In the vaccine scandal, bureaucrats did not monitor fake vaccine production.

Sometimes, one leader in a state department has absolute power but mishaps are blamed on an intangible committee so nobody takes responsibility, everybody shares responsibility or scapegoats are found. The “taking-responsibility” rule has started a paradigm-shift for China-dream and innovations accelerate it.

Dual-track system

China’s government–private "dual-track" economy has made it the world’s second-largest economy. A dual-track system with third-party assessments and reformed mentality may engage stakeholders in defining the agenda and preventing misconduct [4]. The single-track state R&D assessment system encourages academics to have the world’s second-largest output of papers but too many retraction scandals, and might have encouraged corruption.

Hopefully, the new private Xi-Hu Research University will spur innovation; and private entities involved in third-party assessments may help ensure the security of future vaccines. China’s government has imposed strict regulations on neglects and misconduct on medical products but scandals affect China like cancer, which reoccurs despite therapy [5].

Breakthroughs in immunotherapy may reprogram cancer patients’ immunological systems to minimize relapses. Analogously, it may be possible to reprogram society. We applaud the immediate actions taken against misconduct but call for a dual-track system create transparency in regulatorymechanisms for production and help end fake vaccine documentation.

References

1. Yuan X. China?s vaccine production scare. Lancet, 2018; 392: 371.
2. Montgomery DR. Emperor Yu?s great flood. Science 2016;353: 538-539.
3. Qiu J. China goes back to basics on research funding. Nature, 2014;507: 149.
4. Ye Z, Zhang Y. A dual-track system for academia in China against misconduct. J Public Health Policy Plann, 2018.
5. Cyranoski D. China introduces sweeping reforms against misconduct. Nature, 2018;558: 171.