Jiangmen to trial real-name registration at medical institutions
Shanghai. March 23. INTERFAX-CHINA - Starting June 1 this year, patients will need to present identity information when seeking medical treatment in Guangdong Province's Jiangmen City, according to a statement on the Guangdong Provincial Government's Web site on March 23.
The statement said that Jiangmen Municipal Health Bureau recently issued a trial working plan to implement real-name diagnosis and treatment. Five hospitals and a community health center (CHC) in Jiangmen will participate in the trial.
Patients must register at the participating medical institutions with real names and present their Chinese identification (ID) cards when seeking emergency and outpatient treatment. For inpatient medical treatment, patient registration must be accompanied by a copy of the patient's ID card.
An official from Jiangmen Municipal Health Bureau, surnamed Liang, told Interfax that at the beginning of the trial, patients will be encouraged to present their identity information. If they do not present identity information, they will still be allowed to seek medical treatment.
Liang added that the trial will help facilitate the construction of the municipal medical infrastructure in Jiangmen where the ID card number can eventually be used to track patient records. Jiangmen aims to maintain patient records including medical images and medical examination results in databases shared between medical institutions and the municipal health bureau. Patients will be able to obtain results of their medical examinations at any of the medical institutions participating in the trial.
According to the statement, the five hospitals are Jiangmen Central Hospital, Jiangmen Wuyi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Jiangmen People's Hospital, Jiangmen Women's and Children's Hospital, Jiangmen No. Three People's Hospital. Jiangmen Yude Community Health Center is the only participating CHC.
The five hospitals and the CHC are directly managed by Jiangmen Health Bureau. Doctors from the CHC are experienced doctors who used to work in large hospitals in the city, Liang said.
According to Liang, the bureau has not yet decided on the duration of the trial. It will also decide whether to expand the trial depending on the outcome.
- KZ