Peng Jixian, a National People's Congress deputy and president and chief scientist of Shandong Ruiying Pharmaceutical, has long been concerned about healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry. Through in-depth research, he understands the medical and health needs of the people and serves the industry's development.

Before attending this year's NPC meeting in Beijing, Peng visited the Heze Hospital of Shandong Provincial Hospital to conduct research on the establishment of national regional medical centers.

For many years, Heze city, with a population of millions, has faced a shortage of high-quality medical resources. The outflow rate of patients seeking medical treatment elsewhere is high, with nearly one-fifth of annual medical insurance funds flowing out.

During the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, Peng proposed the establishment of a national regional medical center in the area, which quickly gained support. In July of last year, Heze Hospital was approved as part of the fifth batch of national regional medical centers.

"Previously, we needed to go to Jinan to see specialists. Now, we can enjoy the services of specialists from the provincial hospital at home and access high-quality medical resources," said a family number of a local patient in Heze.

Having been deeply involved in the pharmaceutical industry for over 30 years, Peng found that although regional medical centers provide high-end Western medical diagnostic and treatment technologies, there are still problems such as insufficient traditional Chinese medical resources and non-standard local pricing of medicines. In response, he conducted on-site research at several Chinese medicine hospitals and universities and listened to opinions from experts in the industry.

"With the help of internet hospitals, we can integrate physician resources and prescriptions and standardize drug production," he said.

During this year's NPC meeting, Peng focuses on the direction of collaborative innovation and the high-quality development of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry.

"My main suggestions are, first, that the country should provide policy support for the new ecosystem of TCM internet hospitals and pharmaceuticals; second, that we should protect intellectual property rights and offer benefits for TCM prescriptions; and third, that we need to formulate standardized policies for pricing TCM pastes, pills and powders to promote the development of TCM."