Doctors call for more remote consultations

Chinese doctors have called for more systems offering medical consultations over the phone or Internet.

Delegates at a seminar on medical training in Beijing on Saturday said that greater use of third-party "telemedicine" platforms could help address the imbalanced allocation of medical resources around the country.

These platforms should also share information, said Gao Haiqing, deputy head of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University.

According to Lu Qingjun, head of the telemedicine management and training center under the National Health and Family Planning Commission, China has already formulated industry standards for telemedicine information technology.

A platform coordinating the resources of Qilu Hospital and two big Beijing counterparts, has provided consultations to dozens of other hospitals nationwide. Endi