Southern Metropolis Daily:

Improving patient experience and satisfaction with medical services is the most direct and practical measure to protect people's health and enhance their well-being. What arrangements have the NHC made in this regard? And what are your plans going forward? Thank you.

Lei Haichao:

Thank you for your questions. Let me elaborate on this. The NHC places great significance on people's healthcare experience and improving the quality of medical services, and has continuously implemented action plans to improve medical services. Since this year in particular, we have launched a three-year initiative themed "improving patient experience and satisfaction with medical services" along with relevant theoretical study programs. The themed initiative covers hospitals at all levels and the vast number of urban and rural primary medical and health institutions, improving our medical services throughout the entire chain, all areas and procedures. Here, I will give you a brief introduction.

First, we have focused on the entire service process to make medical treatment more convenient and make people feel more comfortable. From the patients' perspective, we promoted the implementation of 20 measures in six aspects in a comprehensive manner before, during and after diagnosis. Our goal is to achieve significant progress in 20 aspects in the next three years, that is, by 2025. Statistics show that 82.7% of public hospitals at or above the level of grade two currently provide medical appointment services, and the average ratio of scheduled patients to the total daily visits at tertiary hospitals across the country has reached 49.2%. In the past, people were not accustomed to making appointments for medical treatment. However, in recent years, with the help of the media, the guidance of medical institutions and the active participation of the public, the proportion has increased to 49.2%. Of course, we still have a long way to go and need to make further improvements.

In addition, the time required for taking outpatient numbers, paying fees and printing reports, was shortened, and flexible time arrangements for outpatients to shorten waiting times were encouraged. We have noticed that in some big cities, such as Beijing, the situation whereby the number of doctors being overly scheduled on Monday and Friday mornings has been significantly improved by adjusting the number of doctors on duty in mornings and afternoons at outpatient clinics. Now, when patients visit some medical institutions in Beijing, they can see more expert doctors in the afternoon. On the one hand, this plays the role of shifting peak load in doctor arrangement. On the other hand, it also plays a role in relieving traffic congestion around large hospitals in cities. Most importantly, it helps save people's time spent queuing and improve efficiency. In addition, we rely on the healthcare consortiums to improve the continuity of medical services and strengthen post-diagnosis management and post-illness follow-up services.

Second, we meet diverse medical needs. More than 5,500 comprehensive hospitals at or above the level of grade two across the country have implemented the "one-stop" comprehensive service model. The multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment service model has been extended to more than 2,000 of these hospitals, which has been welcomed by the public. A total of 2,767 hospitals at or above the level of grade two have at least one new type of outpatient clinic, such as anesthesia, pain, pharmacy and health management, which means that the content and methods of outpatient services have been further improved and enriched.

Third, we have improved the accessibility and equal access to medical services and brought high-quality medical services to the people. We have set up 13 national medical centers of different categories and national regional medical centers for children, carried out 125 regional medical center projects, launched the development of compact urban medical groups in 81 cities, and the construction of county-level medical alliances in 827 counties. This year, we will also expand the development of county-level medical alliances to more provinces and counties to increase coverage. In addition, more than 2,700 internet hospitals have been established.

Fourth, we have taken measures to offer services that benefit and provide convenience to people at the community level, making it easier for them to access basic medical and health services close to home. Since the beginning of this year, we have developed and issued 10 specific measures for medical and health institutions at the community level to offer services that benefit and offer convenience to the public for the 2023-2025 period. Medical and health institutions nationwide are currently advancing the implementation of these measures. These mainly include facilitating outpatient appointments, especially ensuring that outpatient appointments for specialists at Grade II and Grade III hospitals are open and more accessible to people at the community level. Additionally, township clinics and community health service centers have arranged for physicians with intermediate or senior professional titles to be on duty in outpatient departments to solve more health problems at the community level. At the same time, urban community health service centers have extended outpatient service hours, which in some cities have been extended by one to three hours, allowing office workers to access medical care after work. Services for the registration and delivery of scarce medicines have also been provided. In addition, some township clinics and community health service centers offer convenient services such as weekend vaccination, enabling parents to bring their children to get promptly vaccinated in their spare time.

Fifth, we have focused our efforts on enhancing our capacity to serve people throughout the whole process of medical service improvement. Grade II and higher hospitals have established systems for healthcare social workers and volunteers. Increasingly, hospitals have improved patients' medical experiences by providing better dietary services, enhancing the quality of cleaning services, improving parking conditions for patients, and offering access to wireless networks and reading materials in public areas.

Next, we will swiftly compile the successful practices and experiences from various localities in enhancing medical services and apply them broadly, ensuring a better medical experience for the public and fostering more positive interactions between doctors and patients. Thank you.