China Launches Pilot Program to Open Foreign-Owned Hospitals

  

Source: OT-Team(G), 北京日报

 On November 29, China unveiled a work plan on Friday to pilot foreign-owned hospitals in certain provinces and cities, further opening up its healthcare sector.

  The plan aims to attract high-quality international medical resources and diversify domestic healthcare services.

  The plan permits the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals (excluding Traditional Chinese Medical hospitals and merges and acquisitions of public hospitals) in North China's Beijing and Tianjin municipalities, East China's Shanghai, Nanjing and Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, Fuzhou in Fujian Province, and South China's Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, Hainan Province. The plan was jointly released by the National Health Commission of China, Ministry of Commerce, National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and National Disease Control and Prevention Administration.

• Key Requirements for Foreign Investors

  Foreign investors applying to establish wholly foreign-owned hospitals must meet the following conditions:

  1.Legal Entity: Investors must be legally established entities capable of assuming civil liability independently, with experience in managing healthcare investment and operations, either directly or indirectly.

  2.Management and Technology Standards: The hospitals must bring international standards in hospital management, service models, and medical technology, offering advanced equipment and services that complement local healthcare systems.

  3.Service Diversification: The goal is to improve local healthcare services, technologies, and infrastructure while introducing diversified service offerings.

• Conditions for Establishment and Operation

  1.Profit Status: Hospitals may be either for-profit or non-profit institutions.

  2.Hospital Types and Levels: The hospitals can be general hospitals, specialty hospitals, or rehabilitation centers, but must be rated at least as a Class III hospital. Mental health, infectious disease, blood disease, traditional Chinese medicine, integrative medicine, and minority ethnic medical hospitals are excluded.

  3.Prohibited Specialties: Blood internal medicine cannot be registered as a diagnostic department in these hospitals.

  4.High-Risk Procedures: Hospitals will not be allowed to engage in high-risk medical and ethical procedures.

  5.Medical Personnel: Foreign doctors, medical professionals from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, as well as other foreign health workers, may be employed for short-term practice. However, Chinese (Mainland) staff must constitute at least 50% of the total hospital management and healthcare personnel.

  6.Information Management Systems: Hospital management systems must be integrated with local healthcare regulatory platforms, and servers for electronic medical records and medical equipment information must be located within China.

• Can Foreign-Owned Hospitals Participate in Basic Medical Insurance?

  Foreign-owned hospitals that meet the medical resource planning and pricing policies set by relevant authorities can apply to be designated as a basic medical insurance provider. This includes hospitals that are public, privately operated, or wholly foreign-owned, provided they fulfill the required standards for medical insurance management.