Future of online diagnosis, care promising

Editor's note: China has actively optimized and refined its COVID-19 response as the pathogenicity of the Omicron virus weakens, the vaccination rate rises and the country accumulates experience in containing the virus. Following the adjustment, China's COVID-19 prevention and control efforts will focus on protecting health and preventing severe cases. Four experts share their views on the issue with China Daily.

The Chinese government issued a series of supportive policies to promote the development of telemedicine much before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The General Office of the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Promotion and Standardization of Application and Development of Big Data for the Healthcare Industry" in June 2016 and the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Promotion and Development of the Internet Plus Healthcare" in April 2018, which facilitated the establishment of the service provision system, support guarantee system, and helped make internet-aided diagnosis and treatment safer.

There was a rapid increase in the demand for internet-aided diagnosis and treatment after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020, prompting the National Health Commission to encourage people to pay follow-up visits to online hospitals for the treatment of some common and chronic diseases, as well as to purchase medicines to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.