Although China is growing fast in many areas, however, in the field telemedicine, it still is in its infant stage. Nonetheless, by establishing an extensive network Community Health Centers (CHC), China is building a foundation for telemedicine and telehealth, an extension of telemedicine.
With the release of the Healthcare Reform Plan in 2009, China underwent a high growth period of building CHC, each covering population between 30,000 and 100,0001. Every CHC is created by transforming existing level I public hospitals that is designed to serve multiple communities or regions. Under each CHC, there are more Community Health Stations (CHS) 1, which are incorporated into each community and each serves about 10,000 people1. As of 2011, there are 8859 CHS in 36 major cities in China2. The goal of this CHC system is to reduce the number of visits to the major hospitals to reduce cost to both patients and the social healthcare system. Now it usually takes 5 to 10 minute walk for a patient to visit the CHS or CHC. CHS is capable of providing primary care but more complicated cases would be transferred to its associated CHC or specialized hospitals.
Given this network of CHC and CHS, it provides the basis for implementation of telemedicine applications and technologies. If each CHS could be linked with other CHS and its associated CHC, then there would be no need for transferring patients from CHS to CHC for severe diseases, because patients could access to doctors and specialists and even perform remote operations from their CHS.
In February 2011, Ideal Life from Canada is signing a contract with Novatech Biological Pharmaceuticals in China to build a telemedicine network that provides remote monitoring healthcare to 100,000 patients, the largest in the world to date3. Ideal Life would provide wireless sensor devices that would be installed at CHS and could detect and transmit real time patients’ data to their health providers for instant feedback and consultation3.
Although this project would start at Shandong Province, with the infrastructure in other major cities in China, I believe it is scalable to the 36 cities where CHS and CHC are already in place.
Reference:
1. Ruth Woodrow, An in – depth look at Community Healthcare Centers in Beijing, http://www.pharmachinaonline.com/admin/eWebEditor/UploadFile/2009624193513456.pdf
2. Xinhua News, China boosts community health service, March 201, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2011-03/12/content_12160857.htm
3. Close-Up Media via COMTEX, Ideal Life and Shandong NovaTech Biological Pharmaceutical Enter into Pact, December 2010, http://medhealth.tmcnet.com/news/2010/12/03/5172811.htm
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