SHANGHAI, May 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- After two months of well-organised and intensive trial operations, Shanghai International Medical Centre (SIMC), the first international private general hospital in China funded by social capital, was finally officially up and running on May 28. From this day, both visiting doctors and doctors employed by SIMC will work together to offer a multi-disciplinary service as well as surgical treatment to patients. Besides general surgery, the surgical sub-disciplines of ophthalmology and otolaryngological surgery are practised by visiting surgeons, as well as our in-house surgeons, vividly demonstrating the full operations of SIMC.
The commissioning of SIMC is an important step forward in the provision of Healthcare Reform in Shanghai. Its establishment and successful operation will improve a patient's experience by organising his visit more efficiently. SIMC aims to integrate physicians and surgeons (both in-house and visiting) under one roof in order to release the productive power of healthcare services, and satisfy diverse demands of healthcare services in society.
In this way, the multi-disciplinary teamwork and approach to the management of a patient's condition by both visiting and in-house consultants serve the patients' needs better than before. This service model is of international standard and will be routine practice at SIMC. The multi-disciplinary team has the following advantages: firstly, the patient's information is simultaneously available to doctors of different specialties; secondly, the multi-disciplinary team members come up with an optimized treatment proposal based on group discussion; and thirdly, the treatment is integrated and more effective.
SIMC's model of the multi-disciplinary approach to patients is different for that of big hospitals in China, in that the Medical Affairs Department of SIMC (managed by in-house consultants) organises and coordinates all clinicians (visiting as well as in-house) according to the condition and requirement of each patient. The members of the multi-disciplinary team then jointly participate in finalizing the treatment for a certain patient. An example of this integrated approach happened on the first day of the official operations of the multi-disciplinary team.
A 30-year-old HBV positive female patient was seen in consultation by the team. She had a previous history of abortion, was noted to have an abnormally high level of platelets during a second pregnancy and now desired to get pregnant again. This multi-disciplinary team (consisting of physicians from different departments including hepatic infectious disease, haematology, OB/GYN, radiology and pathology) met and jointly made the decision for further treatment promptly after one visit. In comparison, traditionally the patient would need to consult with the various specialists and consultants in the different departments of one hospital for more than one time, or go back and forth between different hospitals before she could receive proper treatment. You can imagine the time, energy and money the old method of referrals from one doctor to another would have cost her. Instead, with the integrated approach, less time and money will need to be spent.
To ensure the medical consultants are respected and reasonably paid for their contribution, SIMC has adopted the paid upon professional skills philosophy. The price is determined by the value of the services provided by the healthcare professionals. And a strict algorithm is set for seeing a doctor. For instance, physicians should spend at least 15 minutes with each patient, and they are allowed to see no more than 30 patients daily. At the same time, the proportion of hospital income attributed by a charge on drugs will not be allowed to exceed 8% of the total cost. The income of doctors is derived from the consultation, attendance, diagnosis and treatment they've provided, rather than from a "kick-back" on medication and laboratory tests. Under the above rules, physicians are paid reasonably for their work and can practice in a dignified manner to save lives and heal the sick. Feedback of recent experiences from patients visiting SIMC is positive and satisfaction levels are high.
Mr. Zhang Chengyu, the director of SIMC, told the press about their achievements during the trial operation. Since opening on March 28, there have been about 10 patients visiting the hospital per week through appointments. SIMC has also provided routine health check services for almost 100 people per week during that period. What is worth noting is the good impression on healthcare delegates from the USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, and Taiwan during their visit to SIMC during the trial operation. Director Zhang summarized the 2-month trial operation as "better than expected." He added, "We would not like to initially advertise our services yet or to pursue a large number of patients for a routine health check or to set any financial target at the beginning of the hospital operations. Our current task is to ensure reliable healthcare services, and a good experience for both the patients and the doctors, in order to enhance the reputation of SIMC in terms of service, cost control and patient satisfaction. We will try our best to build a famous brand in the modern healthcare industry in China."
Information about SIMC
1. Information on Start Up
A Multi-disciplinary Committee was formed comprised of visiting medical consultants in OB/GYN and Haematology, and in-house experts on hepatic diseases; general surgeries, ophthalmological and otolarynogological surgeries were performed. No consultation fees were charged for the first ten out-patients with appointments. From May 28 to June 30, in-hospital charges including laboratory fees were discounted 20%.
SIMC held a brief but impressive opening ceremony on May 28. This included the following agenda:
Director Miao Xiaohui, who is in charge of Hospital Administration, distributed white coats and stethoscopes to doctor representatives from partner hospitals.
2. A Patient's Experience at SIMC
"It has been my very first experience with the VIP-style of personalized healthcare service!" said the mother of a pediatric patient from Yunnan province. Two years ago, her daughter began coughing for unknown reasons at the age of 6. The family visited many local hospitals and the patient had been treated with Western therapies and traditional Chinese medicine. However, they were unable to get a definite diagnosis and the symptoms continued unabated. Then they heard of Dr. Yue Mengyuan, a pediatrician at SIMC, from friends in Shanghai.
Dr. Yue's initial suspicion was that the child might have allergic asthma, after taking a history and making a physical examination to confirm his suspicions he ordered an antigen specific IgE screen test. He discussed the patient's condition with her mother and made an appointment for them to return in three days for the test results.
According to the mother, she had also taken her daughter to a hospital in Thailand when her husband was working there. "Due to the language barrier and despite the assistance of interpreters and the willingness of healthcare professionals to serve the patients, there was difficulty communicating with the doctors and we felt insecure with the treatment."
The mother also confessed that she had also been to some large hospitals in other areas in China, but the experience at SIMC was significantly different from that in those hospitals. "There is no presence of crowds or endless queues. Nor did we feel anxious, impatient, or helpless. The kind nurse was with us from the registration and history taking for first-time patients to every step afterwards, with a smile on her face. My child could go and have some games when we were waiting for doctors and test results. The service is marvelous."
3. Brief introduction about SIMC
SIMC is a private general hospital equipped according to high international standards, and is set to become a leader in China's healthcare industry. It innovatively combines the mature model of international healthcare service management with the prominent specialties in reputable public hospitals here. This powerful combination contributes to top-level healthcare services.
SIMC is also committed to the care, comfort and convenience of its patients, contributing to their pleasant and positive experience with the hospital and their appreciation of the quality of the hospital's non-core services. SIMC has embarked on the strategy of being a leading hospital in China in line with international standards in terms of hospital management. Parkway Health, a member of IHH Group which is the largest privately-owned healthcare institution in Asia, was earmarked to participate in the management of SIMC. It has attained the highest standard of tier 3A hospitals in China. In addition, Parkway Health brings with it the JCI accreditation standards and the international standard procedures to use as protocol standards and rules to adapt to the local situation.
Located in Pudong district, Shanghai International Medical Zone considers modern healthcare services and medical devices and bio-medicine as its core business, and is dedicated to building high-end healthcare service provider group and medical devices and bio-medicine related industry base. As an experimental site of the National Healthcare Reform, SIMC sits inside the Shanghai International Medical Zone, with the target to build a modern high-end healthcare service business, which is market-driven. SIMC attracts excellent healthcare resources both inside and outside China through multi-site practicing and professional workers, and provides flexible and humanized healthcare services that are in line with international standards to satisfy the diverse healthcare demands in society.
