LSE Health has announced a range of new initiatives with Chinese partners across academia and government, including a collaboration with the School of Public Health at Fudan University to explore issues of policy reform in China’s developing health-care system, joint research with Peking University, and a Sino-European forum on food and medicine quality.
During a visit to China in November, Professor Elias Mossialos, Director of LSE Health and Professor Chen Wen, Dean of the School of Public Health at Fudan University, Shanghai (pictured here), signed a memorandum of understanding setting out initial areas of academic collaboration between the two centres.
LSE and Fudan health academics will work on critical areas of policy reform in China's developing health-care system. The initial focus will be on:
- research
- training and executive education on health policy and management, (including hospital management, measuring hospital quality and performance)
- health technology assessment
- pharmaceutical economics
- epidemiology
With China's expanding international role, it is envisaged that LSE and Fudan academics will also work together on pressing challenges in global health.
Professor Elias Mossialos, Director of LSE Health, said: "It is important for LSE Health to be engaging on research and policy work on the significant health policy challenges in China. China is committed to health policy reforms, which will benefit its large population. LSE Health has many years of experience working on health reforms in Europe and beyond with academic institutions, government and international organisations. We are delighted to be working with Fudan University and look forward to producing excellent collaborative research with useful policy outcomes for China and healthcare systems worldwide.”
LSE Health academics Dr Zlatko Nikoloski, Dr Wei Yang, Mr Jia Hu, Ms Yuan Huang, and Dr Anwen Zhang will also work alongside Professor Mossialos on a number of projects related to China. Their research will include analysis of:
- the impact of expanding health insurance coverage on out-of-pocket payments;
- a pilot of three different long-term care schemes introduced in Chinese provinces;
- measurement of avoidable mortality in China; and
- antibiotic consumption and control in China. China currently consumes 50% of the world’s antibiotics and half of all clinical encounters lead to an antibiotic prescription.
In addition, to engagement with the University of Fudan, LSE Health has also been working closely with academics from Peking University, including Professors Hai Fang and Hongpeng Fu. Current research areas include an investigation into the state sponsored tobacco industry and a review of inappropriate prescribing of medicines.
LSE Health is also working closely with the China Food and Drug Administration to develop a Sino-European forum on food and medicine quality, which will also cover antibiotic resistance. One area of focus is market authorisation and quality of medicines in China: bioequivalence testing in China is extremely weak, as generics do not need to be compared to off-patent originator drugs. As a result, many problems with drug quality have been documented.
Contact
Elias Mossialos, Professor of Health Policy, Department of Social Policy, e.a.mossialos@lse.ac.uk (@mossialos)
Notes
LSE Health is a research centre affiliated with the Departments of Social Policy, Management and Accounting. The centre is committed to interdisciplinary research that benefits policy makers and health professionals.
24 November 2015