2016-11-15 11:52:07

Hierarchical medical treatment means grading diseases by whether it is minor or serious, chronic or acute, together with their difficulty levels. Medical institutions of different levels undertake the diagnosis and treatment of different diseases, gradually guiding citizens to form a scientific and rational concept of medical treatment and habits, which will make efficient use of medical resources. In this hierarchical medical pattern, when a patient goes to the primary healthcare institution for the initial diagnosis, the family doctors(general practitioners) will give the necessary treatment; if the patient’s condition is beyond their capacity, the family doctors will refer him/her to a higher level of hospital to receive further diagnosis and treatment from superior doctors. After entering a stable phase, the patient will be transferred back to the primary healthcare institution, advised by the superior doctors for rehabilitation. Patients with acute and severe illness can directly go to a major hospital for clinical services.
With the help of the “Internet Plus” model, Yichang City has set up a ” Hierarchical Diagnosis and Treatment Referral Collaboration Platform”. By docking the clinical information of the three-level medical institutions among city, county and township, it has achieved the electronization and platformization of several medical services information including appointment registration, hospitalization guidance, referral service, family doctor’s electronic contracting, consultation, management of chronic diseases, etc., making it possible for the interoperability between medical resources and information services. The outpatient rate of the county has reached 90 percent.
Through promoting the “Internet Plus Hierarchical Medical Diagnosis and Treatment” healthcare reform which is beneficial to the citizens, and improving the network of urban and rural primary healthcare operation mechanism, the major hospitals are now able to “reduce their burdens”, at the same time, the primary healthcare institutions can also get access to a bigger number of patients with common, frequently-occurring and chronic diseases. Guiding people to rational medical services can help form the new pattern of "minor ailments treated in the community clinic, serious illness in the hospital, rehabilitation back to the community clinic", so that it is more convenient and affordable for people to see a doctor, which will eventually realize the new mode, namely, “initial diagnosis in the community clinic, patient transferrable between community clinic and hospital, chronic- acute separated treatments, clinic-hospital cooperation”.
 (Correspondent: Wei Jixuan)