“That’s incredibly convenient! I can see top hospital specialists face to face right here at my local health clinic,” remarked Liu Qunjiao, a resident of Xinwei Jiang Town in Dong’an County, Hunan province. She recently visited the clinic with family support due to lumbar pain and mobility issues in her legs.
At the clinic, the staff performed a DR scan for Liu and uploaded the images to the medical imaging diagnostic center at the county’s main hospital. Experts there utilized a remote diagnosis system to analyze the images, diagnosing her with a herniated lumbar disc and accompanying sciatica. Treatment recommendations were then delivered through teleconsultation.
This situation reflects the vibrant efforts in Dong’an County to create a health service community that enables residents to access quality medical care right in their own neighborhoods.
At the local clinic in the village, physician Qing Maiyu examines patients. The county has established a three-tier treatment model that integrates “expert support from the main hospital, grassroots doctors, and patients.” This approach directly addresses the challenges faced by local health institutions while reducing travel burdens and costs for patients.
In recent years, Dong’an County has made significant progress in building a cohesive healthcare community. With leadership from the county people’s hospital, along with partnerships with the Chinese medicine hospital, women’s health center, Luhong City Hospital, and various township health clinics, they are promoting a tiered medical care approach that emphasizes primary care at the grassroots level, ensuring smooth referrals and shared resources. Over 30 million yuan has been invested to standardize 301 village health clinics across the county.
To ensure quality medical resources reach grassroots levels, the Dong’an County People’s Hospital launched the “One Village, One Doctor” initiative. They assigned 51 licensed physicians to oversee specific villages, creating a three-tier healthcare framework involving county, township, and village doctors serving 47 administrative villages.
At the health clinic in Santan Village, where patients line up for blood pressure checks and medication, village doctor Qing Maiyu addresses individual health concerns and provides medication guidance. As the deputy chief physician of cardiology, Qing dedicates several days each month to volunteer outreach and follow-ups, closely monitoring the health of over 1,600 village residents and often seeing more than 40 patients in a single busy day.
“The village clinic used to be small and could only handle basic ailments. Now, county doctors regularly come to the clinic for consultations. It’s so convenient to get treated right in my neighborhood,” said village resident Xie Beihua.
“Thanks to our ‘village doctor’ model, both diagnosis and treatment skills among our village doctors have greatly improved,” added village doctor Wei Cailian.
With systematic advancements in the healthcare community in Dong’an County, the quality of medical services is gradually becoming more standardized at the county, township, and village levels. New technologies and initiatives are being introduced in township health clinics, including the establishment of 17 specialized traditional Chinese medicine centers, which enables residents to receive high-quality medical services in their vicinity.
The county has also developed an expert database, incorporating over 100 specialists from hospitals like the county people’s hospital and the Chinese medicine hospital. Each township clinic is paired with a resident expert. From January to August of this year, the county organized over 300 medical experts to conduct outreach services, providing free diagnosis and treatment to more than 3,000 residents. The patient consultation rate in the county reached 56.01%, with 2,939 referrals made, significantly enhancing community members’ access to healthcare and overall well-being.
