City fast-tracks foreign hospital pilot

Guangdong Province is accelerating plans to establish wholly foreign-owned hospitals in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, provincial health authorities have said.

So far, six foreign hospitals have signed investment agreements, while three have been formally approved for establishment, further expanding the province’s international health care sector, according to officials.

Four of Guangdong’s first 25 pilot hospitals for international medical services are in Shenzhen: Shenzhen People’s Hospital, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital and Shenzhen Hospital of Southern Medical University.

Since the pilot program was launched in March, the number of foreign patients treated at the participating hospitals has increased 95.6% from a year earlier, officials said, reflecting growing demand for international medical services across the province.

Irina Karabulatova (R), a scholar from Russia, practices walking with a walker during rehabilitation at The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, accompanied by a medical staff member, following a spinal surgery in January. Lin Jianping

The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH) alone has treated patients from 129 countries and regions and received 720,000 cross-border visits over the past three years. In the first seven months of this year, its international medical services business grew 17.8% year over year.

The international medical services are designed to provide high-quality, sustainable care for residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, foreign nationals and overseas Chinese who pay out of pocket or are covered by international health insurance. The services follow internationally recognized clinical standards, service protocols, management practices and billing systems. They are funded entirely by patients or commercial insurers and are not covered by China’s basic medical insurance program.