Xu Wei introduced that patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and hyperthyroidism need long-term treatment, and the dosage of medication should be adjusted on a weekly and monthly basis. Now, patients no longer need to come to the hospital regularly to register and queue, and they can consult online. At present, Xu Wei receives more than 700 online consultations every month. “During the online consultation process, if the patient’s condition is found to be abnormal, I can help them make an appointment for examination and hospitalization in time, which improves patient satisfaction.”
According to Unshared News , director of the Internet Hospital Office of the Three Gorges Hospital, in May 2021, the mobile APP of the Three Gorges Hospital Internet hospital platform “Three Gorges Hospital” was officially launched. The main users are patients with chronic diseases and those who need regular follow-up visits. The staff of the follow-up center of the Internet hospital will regularly arrange discharge, outpatient service and physical examination according to the follow-up route and online outpatient period set by the doctor. The patient will have a video follow-up visit or a graphic follow-up visit with the doctor online, the doctor will issue a prescription according to the patient’s condition, and the hospital will mail the medicine to the patient’s home.
In order to help patients who are bedridden all the year round to provide regular care, the Internet Hospital of Three Gorges Hospital has also opened an online appointment for nurses to visit nursing services. Home care includes replacement of gastric tube, joint loosening training, catheter maintenance, dressing change for pressure injury, blood oxygen saturation detection, and trace blood sugar detection.
Primary patients benefit
The combination of remote online consultation and follow-up consultation can detect and deal with new diseases in time, so that the life and health of patients can be more guaranteed
“When I buy medicine, I can also video link with experts from the top three hospitals to consult about the condition. I really didn’t expect it!” Lao Yan, a resident of Gaosuntang Street Community, Wanzhou District, Chongqing City, has a long-standing problem of leg pain, and he has never found the cause. He came to the Gaosuntang branch of Zhongxing Pharmacy, sat in front of the computer, and had a video follow-up consultation with the general practitioner of the Three Gorges Hospital.
“Since the installation of the Internet hospital terminal, many elderly people in the community will come to the pharmacy to find an ‘online doctor’ for online consultation.” Liu Xuemei, a staff member of ZTE Pharmacy, told reporters that seeing a doctor in the pharmacy is not only free, but also very convenient. It’s more convenient than going to a community hospital.
The reporter saw that the pharmacy has opened up a special area, which is not only convenient for customers to see a doctor, but also protects privacy. The remote reception point is equipped with computers, cameras, headsets, and consultation tables and chairs. The walls have patterns such as the logo of the remote reception point of the Three Gorges Hospital, which are simple, elegant, and eye-catching. It is understood that the Three Gorges Hospital has selected two larger chain pharmacies in Wanzhou District, ZTE and Hongda, as the remote consultation points. The first batch of 59 pharmacies have launched online customer follow-up services. At present, there are more than 300 online follow-up visits on the pharmacy side.
How to further leverage the advantages of Internet hospitals to benefit more grassroots patients? The Three Gorges Hospital cooperated with the village doctor to set up an Internet hospital terminal in the village clinic. In the clinic of Guanba Village, Longju Town, Wanzhou District, the village doctor Li Xiaojian is instructing the villagers to use the terminal computer of the Three Gorges Hospital networked hospital. “Sometimes when we encounter a condition that we are not sure about, we will also contact the doctor of the Three Gorges Hospital to ask questions, which greatly facilitates the villagers to seek medical treatment.” Li Xiaojian said.
The Internet hospital effectively solves the difficult and critically ill and complex disease patients in remote areas. Lao Wang, who lives in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, suffers from rheumatoid disease. His condition deteriorated not long ago. After treatment in a local hospital, his condition was not under control. In less than two days, Lao Wang was already unconscious and did not cooperate with the physical examination. Through the Internet telemedicine platform, local doctors sought help from Chen Xiaoping, deputy director of the Department of Endocrinology at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing. Chen Xiaoping organized experts from the rheumatology and immunization department
Cui Yong, vice president of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, introduced that one of the characteristics of the hospital’s Internet hospital is the combination of telemedicine and Internet diagnosis and treatment, combining the improvement of grass-roots diagnosis and treatment capabilities with the convenience and benefit of the people. The target of telemedicine is the critically ill and complex disease patients in grass-roots institutions, and the Internet diagnosis and treatment is for the patients who are re-examined for confirmed cases. For some returning patients, their condition may deteriorate during the follow-up period. If they cannot be rushed to a large hospital for treatment within a short period of time, the treatment may be delayed. Through the combination of remote online consultation and follow-up consultation, with the assistance of local doctors, new conditions can be discovered and dealt with in time, so that patients’ life and health are more guaranteed. At present, the Internet hospital system of China-Japan Friendship Hospital has connected nearly 6,000 medical institutions across the country, including more than 580 medical and nursing institutions, and implemented more than 13,000 remote consultations.
Unblock difficult points
Lu Qingjun, director of the National Center for Telemedicine and Internet Medicine and director of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital Development Office, believes that some public hospitals still have problems in management and operation of Internet hospital services. For example, the top-level design is not perfect, the business scope is not clear, the doctor access supervision and online diagnosis and treatment training are insufficient, the lack of standardized Internet medical service process and diagnosis and treatment specifications, the single business type, and the lack of characteristic services. Some Internet hospitals lack good software and hardware technology, and patients and doctors have poor experience.
