National Health Commission to help improve local pediatric healthcare

The National Health Commission will step up efforts to improve local pediatric healthcare and enhance the role of information technologies, in a move to deal with straining pediatric services across the country.

In a statement posted on its website recently, the commission replied to a political adviser who suggested more medical resources be channeled to address issues in pediatric services, which feature long waits and insufficient time for face-to-face consultations.

Methods proposed by the adviser include encouraging child patients to make their first consultations for a new illness at a community-level clinic, and to establish a digital platform that shares information on medical appointments and test results between different levels of medical institutions.

In response, the commission said new services have been launched in recent years to reduce waiting hours and avoid long queues formed at hospitals.

"High-level hospitals across the country are now offering appointments that enable patients to take time slots for a range of examinations via websites, mobile phones or apps," it said.

Meanwhile, a preliminary system dedicated to promote remote health care services has been established, which so far covers at least 22 provinces, 1,800 counties and 13,000 medical institutions in China.

With the advancement of digital services in the medical sector, 4,100 hospitals are now able to push notifications and offer information to target patients, and 27,77 medical institutions now accept mobile payments.

The next step, according to the commission, will see an increasing amount of resources invested in medical services targeting children, such as establishing more pediatric departments at smaller medical institutions and to improve services of existing pediatric hospitals.

Information technology also is expected to play a larger role, as the commission will push for a higher proportion of online appointments and spread knowledge on disease prevention and healthcare through digital platforms.