Shenzhen has been designated as one of the pilot cities to carry out the online nursing-service booking program, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported, citing a working plan for the Internet+nursing service in Guangdong Province.
The plan was jointly drafted by the Guangdong health commission, Guangdong administration of market regulation, Guangdong health-care security administration and Guangdong administration of traditional Chinese medicine.
Under the pilot program, medical institutions that qualify for the Internet+nursing service can assign nurses who are registered in their systems to provide door-to-door nursing services via an online booking platform for patients who have been discharged from hospitals or are unable to move freely.
Besides Shenzhen, another eight cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, namely Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing, have also been included in the pilot list.
The plan stipulates that such service providers should be brick-and-mortar medical institutions and the nurses providing the service should possess professional certificates, which are available through the national nurse registration system, and have at least five years of clinical nursing experience.
The first batch of 43 items, including basic nursing services, chronic disease management, rehabilitation nursing, geriatric nursing, Chinese medicine nursing, maternal and child care, orthopedic nursing and postpartum visits, have been confirmed by the Guangdong health commission after discussions among experts.
It is also worth mentioning that the plan states that patients who have complicated or unstable conditions, or whose treatment involves medical risks or drugs that are under special management, are not eligible for the service. Such patients need to visit hospitals in person.
This means that nurses are not allowed to offer door-to-door intravenous drip services under the plan, the report said.