Public hospitals encouraged to try out medical tourism

The Shanghai Health Commission is encouraging leading public hospitals to try out international medical tourism.

The commission selected 10 initiatives and 20 nominees from 451 applications from 262 local medical facilities. More health entities will adopt and promote these approaches to increase health care quality and medical innovation.

The Shanghai Center for Drug Evaluation and Inspection initiative on policies to promote novel drug research and application has achieved positive results. Shanghai had eight new drugs approved in 2021 and four last year, placing it first in the country.

The city has designated 13 top public hospitals for international medical tourism trials to nurture a batch of service brands with international competency.

Huashan Hospital, one of the city's first medical facilities to offer international services, has attended 600,000 overseas patients from 100 nations and regions over the last 30 years.

It is collaborating with the authorities and other relevant organizations and medical facilities to implement international medical service regulations and standards in order to bring health care and management more in line with international practice and help Shanghai become an Asian medical center.