On April 7, 2025, the “Care Minor Ailments, Embrace healthy Life” press conference hosted by Beijing Health Alliance Charitable Foundation was held in the People’s Daily Health Client Studio. The “Expert Consensus on Health Management of Common Minor Ailment (2025 Edition)” fills the academic gap in the concepts and health management paths for common minor ailments in China, marking a further move from “disease treatment” to optimizing “health management” and towards a new stage of “precision, standardization, and intelligence”.
In order to actively respond to the “Healthy China 2030” Planning and improve public health literacy, the three major associations, General Practice Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, Pharmaceutical Services Branch of China Medical Education Association and China Association of Health Promotion and Education, developed the consensus. It is joint efforts from more than 30 authoritative experts in 9 disciplines including general practice, pharmacology, respiratory,stomatology, pediatric, dermatology, pain, gastroenterology and otolaryngology. After a year and a half of systematic evidence retrieval and expert opinion collection, the “Consensus” was finally generated and officially published in the “Chinese Journal of General Practitioners” on March 10, 2025. Common minor ailments are familiar “minor health issues”, such as headache, common cold, allergic rhinitis, skin eczema, gingivitis, common pain, etc. These seemingly “minor” diseases or symptoms are characterized by high incidence rate and high rate of medical treatment, which brings a great burden to the medical system. Mao Qun’an, Vice President of the China Hospital Association, pointed out that “this is not only a breakthrough in academic achievements, but also a key measure to implement the Healthy China strategy.” He emphasized that the consensus, for the first time, has constructed a three-level prevention and control system of “self-health management, community pharmacy services, general medical intervention” from the three dimensions of medical, pharmacy, and public health, providing operational “technical guide” for the construction of a hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system.
The three major innovative breakthroughs of the Consensus have become the focus of the press conference. Firstly, the establishment of the academic concept and a catalog of 21 common minor ailments applicable to China’s national conditions for the first time. Secondly, the optimization management path for minor ailments has been proposed for the first time: comprehensive health management involving the public, pharmacies, and grassroots medical institutions; The third is to provide an integrated guidance of OTC + health care measures for minor ailments for the first time.
Common minor ailments lack unified and standardized management in China, and data shows that 82% of residents lack confidence in managing minor ailments well. Professor Chi Chunhua, Chairman of the General Practice Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, pointed out in interpreting the Consensus that “the Consensus has established for the first time a directory of 21 minor ailments and provided scientific and practical expert guidance. It not only clarifies that patient self-management and pharmacies are the first stop for minor ailments management, but also sets warning symptoms for ‘necessary referral’, achieving precise allocation of medical resources
In response to the service upgrade needs of more than 700,000 retail pharmacies in China, Shi Shengyi, President of the China Association of Pharmaceutical Commerce, stated at the press conference that the “Consensus” clarifies the role of pharmacists as “health gatekeepers” in the management of minor ailments. By establishing a health care process of “symptom recognition + OTC medication + health care”, retail pharmacies will undertake more than 60% of the first diagnosis services for mild illnesses. ” Ms. Wang Xin, Vice President of DingDang Health Group, introduced the transformation and exploration of DingDang Health in recent years. She said that the release of the” Consensus “is to promote the service upgrade of pharmacies, from single sales to full cycle management of health, and to further explore cross-border cooperation, such as using AI to build systems and professional health management guidelines.
When it comes to upgrading pharmaceutical services, Zhao Ning, Vice President of Pharmaceutical Services Branch of China Medical Education Association, said that the “Consensus” provides an important reference for the rational preparation of “home medicine kits“. The standardized configuration plan for the “Family Health Kit” includes three major modules: basic commonly used over-the-counter medications, first aid supplies, health monitoring and self care. It is suggested that the management of minor ailments should be included in the national primary health care services, and the service model of clinical pharmacists and pharmacists in pharmacies should be explored.” At the roundtable forum, Rong Wensheng, Secretary General of China Oral Health Foundation, introduced the high correlation between oral health and overall health. “The comprehensive oral care trilogy of brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash can effectively improve oral hygiene in daily life.” As the industry representative, Xie Ellie, Group President of Kenvue Asia Pacific, said, “Kenvue has been deeply rooted in the field of consumer health for more than 135 years, constantly creating more comprehensive solutions to meet the diversified health needs of consumers. Managing common minor ailments is particularly important for personal and family health and well-being.”
The release of the Consensus has played a positive role in promoting the implementation and improvement of minor ailments management in the future, and has significant social value in optimizing hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, reducing medical burden, and enhancing public health literacy. In order to further respond to the publication of the Consensus and promote multi organization collaboration across fields and industries, Chen Portia, Commercial Vice President of Kenvue China, said, “Kenvue is willing to take more social responsibilities and cooperate with industry partners such as internet platforms and retail pharmacies and medical associations to jointly improve the accessibility of scientific information and health products.”