In today’s talking points: China popularises online medical services; China’s anti-tobacco efforts need to be strengthen; Health, Wellness and Fitness trending in China
China popularises online medical services
To get to see a doctor in China’s public hospitals is not the easiest and not the most pleasant mission at all. People always have to experience long queues, even for getting short consultant services. One of the Chinese Internet firms puts its efforts to overcome this issue by providing Chinese patients online access to licensed doctors in over 2,400 hospitals across the country. “We Doctor” is an app developed by WuZhen Internet Hospital, which is based in Wuzhen, a town in eastern China/s Zhejiang Province. Zhang Guimin, marketing director of the company, associates the concept of the app with Uber. Patients can describe their illness and arrange doctors accordingly. “Doctors can pick up orders on their own and confirm and appointment for an online diagnosis when they have time,” Zhang said. As of now, “We Doctor” has 26,000 doctors registered in its system, the app sees an average of 31,000 appointments made each day. The online platform aims to open 100 branches over the next three years, providing online medical consultations and e-prescriptions via phones or remote video systems.
Read more at Xin Hua Net
China’s anti-tobacco efforts need to be strengthen
The Ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion (GCHP) began in Shanghai on Monday. WHO chief, Margaret Chan hailed China’s ever-strengthening anti-tobacco efforts, saying she hopes to see more progress in the right direction. 16 Chinese cities have passed tobacco control regulations. Shanghai, as a leader of the campaign, plans to ban smoking in all indoor public places, public transport and workplaces from March 2017. Chan encouraged mayors to set regulatory or fiscal measures, such as a ban on tobacco advertisements on TV and print media, increased taxes and the cease of tobacco sponsorship in sports events. She has reminded that according to WHO figures, tobacco kills six million people every year. “These are avoidable deaths. It’s a tragedy that we don’t prevent smoking from causing death and devastation on health”, the chief said. During the four-day GCHP, over 100 mayors from cities across the world pledged to integrate and strengthen health in their key policies. Margaret Chan stressed that public health should be given priority in the country’s development strategy.
Read more at Xin Hua Net
Health, Wellness and Fitness trending in China
In the past, Chinese people had very low awareness of physical fitness, as many believed that ‘Health depends on food rather than feet’ (Chinese traditional saying). However, public awareness of fitness has boomed as China is getting rich. Since the government issued the “Outline of Nationwide Physical Fitness Program’, all national 5-year plans have included programs on public fitness, and in 2014 these programs turned into a national strategy. This increase promoted a growth of mobile Internet and a boom in entrepreneurship – from fitness tracking bracelets, low-calorie dishes, to real estate developers sponsoring customers to run marathon races abroad.
Read more at Live Trading News