Deng Xiaohong, the vice director of Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, disclosed during a recent visit to community hospitals in Fengtai District that the Chinese Ministry of Health will set up a regional medical center for every 300,000 to 500,000 people to provide them with a convenient medical service.
During the visit, inspectors found that community hospitals are more important now as many chronic disease patients often go to see the doctor at these hospitals. However, community hospitals are still less attractive as they can't handle certain major diseases. The inspectors suggested that a link be set up between community hospitals and big hospitals so that patients can move easily to big hospitals when they need detailed checkups that cannot be made by the community hospitals.
Deng said that a large regional medical center will be set up for every 300,000 to 500,000 residents to handle patients transferred from community hospitals.
