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According to the 2022 National Bulletin on the Development of Ageing released at the end of 2023, by the end of 2022, there were 8,627 general hospitals and 19,494 primary medical and health institutions with age-friendly medical institutions across the country. Compared with the total number of medical and health institutions in the country (1032918 at the end of 2022) in the Statistical Communiqué on the Development of Health Undertakings in China in 2022, it can be seen that the proportion of age-friendly medical institutions still has a lot of room for growth. To practice and strengthen the concept of "age-friendly" and promote the construction of age-friendly medical institutions, it is necessary to further expand and improve the quality.
Promoting the construction of age-friendly medical institutions is an urgent task of long-term significance. Population aging will be the basic national condition of the mainland for a long time to come. Promoting the construction of age-friendly medical institutions is not a "brand" or "shouting slogan", but an important starting point for focusing on the goal of healthy aging, promoting the healthy China strategy and actively responding to the national strategy of population aging, and steadily improving the health level of the elderly.
In mainland China, the prevalence of chronic diseases among the elderly aged 60 and above exceeds 78%, and the parallel demand for "providing for the elderly" is "medical treatment for the sick". Daily medical treatment takes up a considerable part of the time and energy of the elderly group. According to a survey of the elderly in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 54.97% of the respondents spend 2~4 hours on each medical visit, 70.5% of the respondents believe that the convenience of the medical treatment process is average, and nearly seventy percent of the respondents say that they often feel physically and mentally exhausted and physically exhausted when they visit the doctor, and the most important reason is the long queuing time in each link.
The survey shows that the pain points of the elderly in seeking medical treatment are broadly representative. To eliminate these pain points, medical institutions need to provide better and more humanized diagnosis and treatment services under the guidance of the concept of "age-friendly", especially in the process of informatization and digital construction, to provide more care measures for the elderly, and help the elderly to seek medical treatment smoothly and conveniently. Through the reengineering of service processes and the reshaping of management models, medical institutions can also improve patient satisfaction and hospital reputation, and achieve a win-win situation of social and economic benefits.
There are rules to follow to promote the construction of age-friendly medical institutions. In December 2020, the National Health Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued the "Notice on Carrying out the Work of Building Age-Friendly Medical Institutions", which clarified that the health administrative departments at all levels and the competent departments of traditional Chinese medicine should formulate specific implementation plans. In some provinces, the construction standards have been specific to all aspects of the treatment of elderly patients. When medical institutions have detailed "road maps" and "construction drawings", they naturally have a little more confidence and determination.
It is not difficult to see from the evaluation methods of provinces with obvious construction results that the construction of age-friendly medical institutions is not the pursuit of one-step completion, but in the gradual process, constantly grasp the rigid needs of elderly patients, and continue to improve the degree of completion. For example, Jiangsu Province divides the establishment of age-friendly medical institutions into two levels: qualified and excellent, which not only reflects the accessibility of universal creation, but also highlights the leading role of key construction, and the enthusiasm of participating medical institutions can be fully mobilized.
At present, many places have accumulated some practical experience in building age-friendly medical institutions. In the future, the construction of age-friendly medical institutions should pay more attention to the construction standards, sort out the phased results, clarify the short-term and long-term goals, and carry out systematic planning and layout around the "age-friendly". Promoting the construction of age-friendly medical institutions is a positive response to the rigid medical needs of the huge elderly group, which needs to focus on the actual needs to refine the construction standards, optimize the evaluation methods, and more importantly, medical institutions need to take the initiative and take active actions.
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Text: Health News Commentator
Editor: Guan Zhongyao
Proofreading: Ma Yang
Review: Qin Mingrui, Xu Bingnan