Abstract: ObjectiveTo understand the varieties of common diseases and frequently encountered diseases among Chinese residents, along with the features of disease coverage, compare the results of this field research with the "National Essential Medicines List"(NEML) in order to provide scientific evidences for a reasonable set of the categories in NEML. MethodsSample survey was conducted at a number of representative medical institutions in five provinces of China. We collected and analyzed the discharged patient record data of the whole year 2008 at fourteen 3A grade hospitals which owned inpatient electronic record system, interviewed the relevant healthcare professionals at 45 community health service centers and township hospitals, understood the diseases involved in the patients there. Resultsand ConclusionThere is a great difference between the disease coverage of field research and that of NEML, so that it's necessary to reconsider and respecify the diseases included by the current NEML.

Key words: National Essential Medicines List, disease coverage, field research