The barefoot doctor system was abolished in 1981 with the rise of Deng Xiaoping and the end of the commune system of agricultural cooperatives. The new economic policy in China promoted a shift from collectivism to individual production by the family unit. The barefoot doctor model officially ended during the Chinese Medical Reformation of 1985, when the term 'barefoot doctor' was removed from the healthcare system and replaced with the term and concept of 'village doctors'. This shift caused a privatization of the medical system, which marginalized barefoot doctors and their focus on preventive medicine and primary healthcare. The barefoot doctors were given the option to take a national exam, if they passed they became village doctors, if not they would become village health aides. Some village doctors later entered medical school.