Establishment of and economic evaluation on health reporting system in China

China is on the stage of rapid population aging while still in the process of health transition, with the morbidity and mortality spectrum harboring great and complex population health and safety risks; the situation poses a huge challenge for public health. This study proposed to establish a health reporting system adapted to national context and needs in the perspective of system optimization. Population economics-based cost-benefit analyses were conducted to evaluate the benefits of this new system. The results indicate that health reporting system is a further development of health surveillance system; current development of public health system and service system is in the turn of “system balance” to “system imbalance” and an important manifestation of institutional innovations and optimization. The direct benefits of the health reporting system include economic cost savings and data and information resources generated by population coverage; the indirect benefits of the system contain health gains contributed to the utilization of the health reporting system.