The Chinese government has announced a set of new reforms for the medical industry. This means changes in areas such as pay structures for doctors in public facilities and the quality of medication sold to the public.

When doctors' pay is not competitive compared with other white-collar jobs, the industry simply cannot get top-notch talents. 

Recently, a psychiatrist made headlines in southwest China's Guizhou Province, when he found a new job at a different hospital and 64 patients left with him. It was reported that the new hospital had offered him better pay. 

The new policy – a pilot program in 11 regions – asks hospitals to put out a salary system that offers better incentives. It aims to end the practice of everyone eating from the same "big pot," a scheme in which everyone is paid similarly regardless of merit.

According to the reform, people in key and high-risk positions, those with unique abilities and workers who have made outstanding contributions should be paid more. 

The policy also bans doctors' salaries being linked to the number of prescriptions they make for drugs or medical procedures, which is common in China. Instead, quotas should be set in the areas of diagnosis and treatment, care services and surgery. 

Notably, the policy says hospitals are allowed to use revenues as cash awards to workers, counter to existing restrictions. 

The new policy in the pharmaceutical industry deals with everything from production to distribution and usage. 

Authorities will be stricter in approving new drugs, but procedures will be improved. 

The new policy also encourages quality assessments of "generic drugs" – copycats of existing medication, which can legally be made after patents expire. 

Generic drugs are more affordable, and very popular in China. The problem is that these copycats are often not as good as the originals. The new rule spells out incentives for drugs that pass quality assessments.

Another feature of the reform is the so-called "Internet Plus" in the distribution of medicine. It calls for the sale of medicine on the Internet to reduce costs. It also paves the way for online services by pharmacists.