Unlike his previous clinical work, which focused on treatment, family doctor Zhang Qingzhu now works mainly on prevention, publicity and monitoring.

Zhang, 46, is a doctor at Xiushuihe Central Health Center in Faku county of Shenyang, Liaoning province.

"In addition to meeting patients in person, I also need to keep in touch with those who have basic chronic diseases at least once a month through phone calls and WeChat," Zhang said.

Since 2000, he has been working in the clinical surgery department at Xiushuihe Central Health Center. In 2018, he passed the exam and qualified as a general practitioner. Since then, Zhang moved into family medicine. He offers contract services to about 3,600 permanent residents over 65 years and people with chronic diseases in his district. His services include annual physical examinations, the interpretation of reports, disease prevention and control and health promotion.

"Farmers generally lack health awareness and have poor cognitive ability to judge diseases. They mistake having no symptoms as being healthy. They seldom take medicine if they don't feel anything. Unfortunately, once these people get sick, they usually develop irreversible complications," Zhang said.

Feng Baoku, a 72-year-old patient, suffers from high blood pressure and is at risk of a stroke at any time. He didn't know what was wrong, so he took pills when he had a headache and stopped taking them when he felt better.

"I understand the needs of most grassroots farmers very well," Zhang said. "They lack health awareness and knowledge.

"With the development of society and the increase of the aging population, most of the elderly people reside in rural areas while their children go out for work. Therefore, they need a family doctor to evaluate their health and diagnose diseases. That's why I chose to be a family doctor."

Zhang told China Daily that the local hospital has set up five teams of family doctors. Each team provides contract services for people within the scope of regional management and conducts health check-ups for the elderly and people with chronic underlying diseases. They also offer services such as on-site interpretation of physical examination reports, guidance on treatment and prevention and health education. Through the medical community platform, patients can make appointments with doctors online and save time.

According to the health commission of Shenyang, the government started promoting family doctor services years ago. By 2025, contract services for the whole population will reach 50 percent. Services for the key population — including pregnant women, the elderly, children, people with disabilities or those with pre-existing conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, among others — will reach 70 percent.

Zhou Qingyang and Liu Siying contributed to the story.