口ByGeLijun
Chinadevelopstelemedicinetotakehealthcaretoremoteareas
Withthenumberofcardiovasculardiseasepatientsincreasing,therehastobeamoreconvenientmedicalserviceforthem.Onlinediagnosisandtreatmentholdsgreatsignificanceforhealthcare.
WangJianan,President,SecondAffiliatedHospitalofZhejiangUniversity,SchoolofMedicine
“Hereisyourmedicine,”saidthedelivery
man,handingovertwoboxesofprescriptiondrugstoHuang,amedicalhistory-makingchroniccardiovasculardiseasepatient,identifiedonlybyherfamilyname.
Itwasared-letterdayforhi-techmedicalservicesinChina.December12,2015.Themedicines,deliveredtoHuanginHangzhou,capitalofZhejiangProvinceineastChina,werethefirstprescriptionbythecountry’sfirstInternethospital,theWuzhenInternetHospital,basedinWuzhen,thetownwhichhostedtheSecondWorldInternetConferencethesamemonth.
ItwasamomentofintensepersonalsatisfactionforHuangaswell,liftingaloadofinconveniencefromherfrailshoulders.Thoughherillnesshadbeenbroughtundercontroltwoyearsago,thedoctorshadtoldhershewouldneedperiodicexaminationsandhavetotakemedicineregularly.Thehospitalwhereshehadbeengoing,theSecondAffiliatedHospitalofZhejiangUniversitySchoolofMedicine(SAHZU),wasfarawayandthetripswereinconvenient.
However,thesituationchangeddramaticallyonDecember10.Onthatday,WangJianan,PresidentofSAHZUandarenownedcardiovasculardiseaseexpert,studiedHuang’smedicalhistory,examinedherandprescribedhermedicines.AllthiswasdonewithoutHuanghavingtosetfootoutsideherhome,throughvideoconferencingandemailing,withthedoctorsendingherane-prescription.
TheincidentmarkedthelaunchoftheInternethospital,anonlineinitiativetoprovidemedicaltreatmentnationwide.
“Withthenumberofcardiovasculardiseasepatientsincreasing,therehastobeamoreconvenientmedicalserviceforthem,”WangtoldChinAfrica.“Onlinediagnosisandtreatmentholdsgreatsignificanceforhealthcare.”
TheInternethospitals,whichareespeciallybeneficialforpatientswithchronicdiseaseswhoneedfrequentcheckups,areamajorcomponentofhealthcarereform,providingmoreconvenient,efficientandfeasibleservices.
Atestcase
TheWuzhenInternetHospital,establishedintheWuzhenComprehensiveExperimentalZonefortheInternetInnovationandDevelopment,issupportedbythelocalgovernmentsofTongxiangCityandWuzhenTowninmattersofpolicy.Technologically,itisassistedbytheWeDoctorGroup,whichoperatesanonlineplatformforhospitalappointmentregistration.
Thehospitalconnectsdoctorswithpatientsnationwidethroughitsappandwebsite.Afterthepatienthasconsultedtheselecteddoctorviavideochat,herorhismedicalrecordwouldbestoredelectronicallyinthehospital’sinformationsystem.Thepatientcanchooseadoctorfromthecomfortsofhome,receivetreatmentthroughremoteconsultation,andpaymedicalbillsonline.
AccordingtoZhangGuimin,MarketingDirectorGeneraloftheWeDoctorGroup,toensurequalityonlinediagnosisandtreatmentaswellaspatients’safety,thenewhospitaliscurrentlyfocusingontreatingpatientssufferingfromcommonailmentsandchronicdiseases.
ZhangsaidtheInternethospitalscanbreakdownregionalbarriersandconquerdistances.Patients,regardlessofwhethertheyliveinbigcitiesorremotemountainousareas,canequallyenjoythesamehighqualitymedicalservice.
Renqing,achildmonkfromavillageinTibet,wasdiagnosedwithaseverebleedingdisorderfiveyearsago.HereceivedastemcelltransplantattheNo.401HospitalofthePeople’sLiberationArmyinQingdao,ShandongProvince,forwhichhehadtojourneyalongwayfromthesouthwesttoeastChina.Afterheleftthehospital,the11-year-oldstillneededtreatmentbutitwasahardshiptoperiodicallygobacktothehospitalfromtheremotemountainousareawherehelived.
Toaddresstheproblem,theWeDoctorGroupinstalledtheirtelemedicinemonitoringsysteminalocalhospitalintheneighborhood.Today,Renqingcandirectlychatwithhisdoctorbyvideoandreceiveinstanttreatment.
ThisinnovativeInternethospitalprototypehasreceivedwidespreadattentionsinceitsinception.AttheLianghui,theannualsessionsoftheNationalPeople’sCongress,China’stoplegislature,andtheNationalCommitteeoftheChinesePeople’sPoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC),theapexpoliticaladvisorybody,inBeijinginMarch,theWuzhenInternetHospitalwaslaudedbyGuoGuangchang,amemberoftheCPPCCNationalCommittee.Duringaneconomicpaneldiscussion,Guosaidthehospital’sexampleshouldbefollowedandsuggestedintroducingonlinemedicalinsurance.