A resident of East China’s Shandong Province named Zhu recently experienced the convenience of medical consultation through an internet hospital.
Zhu and his parents, from Yantai City, discovered on December 20 that they had developed symptoms such as sore throat and fever, but there was no suitable medicine at home.
After the neighborhood committee introduced him to the WeChat mini-program run by Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital’s Internet hospital, Zhu described their symptoms on a provided form.
The doctor then responded and prescribed the prescribed medication in less than 20 minutes based on the consultation.
That afternoon, the hospital contacted a courier to collect the drugs from the designated pharmacy and deliver them to Zhu.
Yin Shaohua, head of the outpatient department of Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, said that to cope with the increasing demand for consultations, the hospital added fever clinic windows for different groups, including adults, children and fever clinics, on the WeChat mini-app on December 16. Those who wish to receive COVID-19 consultations with traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Online fever clinics opened for the first time on December 16. The next day, 128 online consultations were recorded. On December 22, this number was 757. This can help reduce cross-infection and meet patients’ needs for diversified medical care, Yin said.
In addition, the Internet hospital has launched various services such as online consultation services for various specialties, online drug prescriptions and door-to-door delivery of medicines for patients to consult a doctor at home.
“Our Internet hospital has cooperated with offline prescription pharmacies. After consultations, prescriptions and order placement are completed through the mini-program, patients can come to the hospital or designated pharmacy to pick up their drugs, or choose to have their drugs delivered to their homes,” said Zhang Zhenzhen, who works in the hospital’s network information office. .
Zhang said the qualifications of designated pharmacies are evaluated and the drugs they sell are the same as those prescribed in hospitals to ensure the effectiveness of treatment.
Shandong has opened 174 Internet hospitals to provide online diagnosis and treatment, drug treatment and psychological counseling services for patients with fever or chronic diseases.
As the COVID-19 response has shifted from prevention of infection to medical treatment, China has taken comprehensive measures to increase access to medical treatment and medicines, improve health services for the elderly and other key groups, accelerate vaccination, and combat COVID-19. prevention and control work in rural areas.
China is also expanding facilities for fever clinics in medical facilities. By the end of October, there were 19,400 fever clinics or consultation rooms at community health centers and township level across the country.
In northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, residents can also enjoy the convenience of internet hospitals.
On Tuesday, a resident surnamed Jiang from the provincial capital city of Xi’an consulted Wu Hongyan, a pediatrician at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, through an Internet hospital.
During the video consultation, Wu Jiang inquired about his son’s age, weight and symptoms and observed the child’s condition. She said Jiang should help her son take fever-reducing medicine, make sure the boy drinks plenty of water, pay attention to his sweating, and take the boy to the hospital if his fever lasts more than 48 hours.
Jiang said he was reassured after the consultation.
“The Internet hospital now provides convenience for patients who don’t need to go to the hospital but need advice from doctors,” Wu said, adding that he now sees more than 10 to 20 parents through online consultations every day.
Wu provides medication and care instructions and advises parents to pay close attention to their children’s health. Children showing specific symptoms are advised to go directly to the hospital.
In addition to providing Internet hospital services, Shaanxi is strengthening drug supply, expanding critical care resources and increasing the number of fever clinics to meet residents’ needs.