Recently, the new policy for wholly foreign-owned hospitals has garnered much attention. There is widespread anticipation and need for high-quality medical services that this new regulation promises to promote and support. This is particularly true in the field of pediatrics, where the demand for superior services is especially important.
As a continually evolving discipline, one major focal point is the question of how pediatritians can improve the quality of medical services to meet the diverse needs of both Chinese and international parents, and to better safeguard children's healthy growth.
For this talk, we have invited Professor Tony Duan, Chief Medical Expert, Am-Sino Healthcare, and Dr. Nathanaël Goldman, Deputy Director of Pediatrics, Am-Sino Healthcare to share their profound insights on children's health management. They will also discuss their vision for the future development of pediatric services at Am-Sino Healthcare.
01
Right Care without Over-Diagnosing or Over-Prescribing: Managing Health with Expertise and Care
When parents bring their children for medical appointments, anxiety and stress are common. How does Am-Sino Pediatrics address this issue?
Professor Tony Duan: Parents' anxiety mainly stems from their lack of understanding of their child's condition and concerns about the treatment process. Am-Sino pediatricians continuously learn and gain experience to solve parents' problems with professional knowledge, build trust, and alleviate anxiety.
We adhere to the principle of 'no excessive examinations or over-treatment.' Regarding parents' concerns about medication, we always maintain a cautious approach, prescribing drugs only as needed, including preferred imported medication.
Each consultation typically lasts 20-30 minutes, allowing doctors to thoroughly understand each child's specific situation, clearly explaining the treatment plan in language that parents can easily understand, and respect parents' rights to be informed. We communicate from the parents' perspective to ensure they have a full understanding and acceptance of the treatment details.
Dr. Goldman: Because young children cannot clearly express their discomfort, it requires doctors to not only carefully observe the child but also attentively listen to the parents' descriptions and formulate a treatment plan accordingly.
In essence, the process of parents bringing their children to see a doctor is a collaboration and consensus between the parents and the doctor to identify and solve the child's problems together. When parents feel that the doctor genuinely cares for and understands their child, trust gradually builds.
During each consultation, we provide personalized treatment recommendations for the child, ensuring that parents understand and accept the treatment arrangements. I also take the time to discuss home care and lifestyle adjustments in detail, helping parents better care for their children.
02
Primary Physician Responsibility System
Comprehensive, Full-Life-Cycle Care
The 'Primary Physician Responsibility System' at Am-Sino Healthcare is widely praised. How does it provide personalized, full-cycle health and medical services for children?
Professor Tony Duan: If a patient sees Doctor A during their initial visit and then sees Doctor B at the next appointment, it becomes difficult to maintain consistent care and monitoring of the same patient's condition.
Am-Sino Pediatrics is positioned to provide high-quality private pediatric services, offering comprehensive care for children aged 0 to 18, from fetal development to adolescence.
Our services are centered around customer experience, covering child health care and the treatment of common illnesses. We also leverage expert resources to provide diagnosis and treatment for various specialized diseases, complementing public tertiary hospitals and achieving a layered and refined medical service.
Dr. Goldman: At Am-Sino Healthcare, many babies have their health records established as early as the fetal stage, creating a medical system where the family doctor serves as the primary health gatekeeper.
Through a one-on-one personalized service model, the general practitioner is responsible for maintaining and promoting the child’s health throughout the entire process. If specialist care is needed, the general practitioner will promptly arrange for a specialist consultation.
As a comprehensive medical institution, Am-Sino Healthcare offers a full range of disciplines, including pediatric dermatology, pediatric endocrinology, pediatric orthopedics, adolescent mental health, and pediatric rehabilitation. For rare diseases, we have established a fast-track system in collaboration with public tertiary hospitals, utilizing a joint approach of 'general practitioner + specialist + external expert' to comprehensively meet the health needs of children from birth to adolescence.
03
Dedication to Precision: Creating a Child-Friendly Hospital
Everyone says Am-Sino excels in customer experience and attention to detail in service. Could you elaborate on that?
Professor Tony Duan: Throughout the year, various viruses are prevalent, and it’s inevitable that children may feel unwell or face sudden health issues. To safeguard children's health, Am-Sino provides 24-hour pediatric outpatient and inpatient services, ensuring that professional care is available at any time.
Currently, Am-Sino Healthcare operates one hospital, 2 medical centers and 1 outpatient clinic in the central areas of Shanghai, ensuring convenient transportation so parents don't need to travel long distances for medical care. They use an appointment-based system to effectively avoid the common issue of 'waiting for three hours, and only seeing a doctor for three minutes.' With the design concept centered on being child-friendly, the hospital has separate "Well" and "Sick" areas within the facility to minimize the risk of cross-infection.
Am-Sino Healthcare consistently adheres to the principles of evidence-based medicine, avoiding unnecessary examinations and over-medication, and providing scientific, rational treatment plans. For those in need, we support the choice of imported drugs. Additionally, we offer direct billing services with insurance, streamlining the payment process to make visits quicker and reduce financial stress.
In terms of customer experience, Am-Sino Healthcare values customer feedback, continuously collecting it and improving services to offer a personalized experience for each customer, ensuring their needs are fully met.
Dr. Goldman: Medical services are a complex system that must ensure both patient experience and the well-being of medical staff. To enhance safety, service quality, and patient experience, we have invested considerable time and effort in establishing comprehensive systems and training mechanisms to prevent potential issues.
Service safety and quality are fundamental. We also value empathy, putting ourselves in the patients' shoes to understand their needs and expectations. This mindset runs through all our service procedures and design processes.
While achieving perfect customer experience isn't easy, we continuously strive to provide trustworthy and satisfactory services for every patient. This remains our unwavering goal.
04
Striving for Excellence: Advancing Specialized Fields
What are your expectations for the future development of Am-Sino Pediatrics?
Professor Tony Duan: In the future, the Am-Sino Pediatrics team will continue to adhere to the core concept of being 'customer-centric'. We aim to attract and nurture more highly qualified pediatricians, continuously optimize medical service processes, and strengthen the overall team development. At the same time, we will explore and innovate more medical service models that meet the current needs to further improve medical quality.
We hope that both the local and expatriate families living in Shanghai can enjoy the same high standards of medical care. We also look forward to the early completion of our future Am-Sino Children's Medical Center, providing comprehensive healthcare for more families with added professional and caring services, assisting in the healthy growth of every child.
Dr. Goldman: I hope to implement good and innovative medical concepts we have learned and understood. Our aim is to create a warm and friendly hospital, providing a comfortable treatment experience for more children.
Dr. Nathanaël Goldman >>>
Deputy Director of Pediatrics, Am-Sino Healthcare
