BEIJING - A planned "medical
city" for east Beijing's Tongzhou district is eyeing the growing demand
for high-quality medical services and has set a goal of becoming a medical
tourism site.
"Since Chinese people are becoming richer
and richer, their awareness of health is growing rapidly. That's why we are
going to build a first-grade medical city," said Chen Lihua, chairwoman of
the Fu Wah International Group, developer of the medical city.
Nearly 60,000 Chinese people go abroad
annually for healthcare services, especially for cancer screening, giving birth
and getting treatment for chronic diseases, according to earlier media reports.
But Chen's plan is to attract patients to her
medical city instead.
"The medical city will include disease
prevention centers, the best general hospitals, a nursing home and a health
examination center," Chen said.
Though the cost and time needed for
construction have not yet been set, she was determined to invest in the project
because building the largest hospital in China is her "lifelong
desire".
"As an international metropolis, Beijing
should have such health centers that provide high-quality medical services and
set a model for nearby cities," said Zeng Yixin, vice-president of the
Peking Union Medical College and academician of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences.
"Being able to provide high-quality
medical services, especially curing complicated and chronic diseases, is
essential," Zeng said. "Since we do not have much experience with
high-quality health service in China, we can surely learn a lot through
cooperation with foreign researchers."
As the first-stage project of the medical
city, a cancer research center will be built for Chinese scientists to
cooperate with Oxford experts on introducing target therapy to China. The
therapy is a type of anti-cancer therapy that blocks the growth of cancer cells
by interfering with specific targeted substances essential for tumor growth.
"Some of the treatments have been used in
the West for many, many years before they come to China. Now we want to do
trials both in the West and China, so this will hugely speed up getting the
therapy and new drugs to Chinese citizens on time," said David Kerr,
professor of cancer medicine at the University of Oxford.
Target therapy has been in clinical
application in Western countries since 2003, and was proved more effective than
current treatments and less harmful to normal cells than traditional methods.
Besides introducing the therapy, Kerr and his
team will train Chinese doctors and nurses with their knowledge of tumors.
"Only 10 percent of the cancer patients
who need drug therapy in China can get access to target therapy, which is lower
than in the West," said Sun Yan, a professor of the Cancer Institute and
Hospital under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
According to Sun, target therapy is effective
for cancers like lung cancer, breast cancer and liver cancer, but it is more
costly than chemotherapy, and some Chinese doctors do not know how to use it.
"We wish that every single patient who
needs target therapy will have access to it," Sun said.
Cheng Yingqi (China Daily)
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment