Wuxi makes progress in developing online medical services

Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu province has made headway in promoting the initiative of internet plus medical and health care, according to the city's health commission.

An array of supporting policies and measures have been introduced in areas such as online diagnosis and treatment, internet hospitals and telemedical services, the health commission said.

Hospitals in Wuxi and its prefecture-level cities are also able to share their medical information with each other thanks to a national platform for people's health information.

Wuxi Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital has built an information system to link 166 vaccination units and provided services to over 400,000 children.

Noting the progress made in building online medical platforms, the commission said Wuxi has released a mobile phone app for patients to receive timely and efficient treatment.

With the app, patients can register for an appointment, pay the necessary fees, find out their test results and receive a consultation at eight different hospitals, including the Wuxi People's Hospital. The app has proved popular among patients and has improved the hospitals' work efficiency.

In 2017, United Kingdom-based biopharma group AstraZeneca signed an agreement with the Wuxi health and family planning commission and the China Cardiovascular Association to establish a new model for chest pain treatment at the national Chest Pain Center in the city. The new model may eventually be rolled out nationally.

The new treatment model was designed to create a citywide real-time interaction system based on internet of things technology. It follows evidence-based protocols that allow more rapid assessment and treatment of patients arriving at the emergency department with chest pain.

In addition, a specialized network for medical services spanning the city and online platforms for cloud telemedical services have been established, enabling hospitals to provide telemedical services.