Fudan University, Minhang district partner for health

Shanghai-based Fudan University recently announced it would establish a strategic partnership with the city's Minhang district, to help deepen healthcare reform.

Under the partnership, a healthcare unit will be jointly set up to integrate medical resources from hospitals affiliated to the university and the medical bodies of the district.

The joint healthcare unit will explore reforms in medical staff training and management, patient transfers and medical insurance payments. It will also attempt to allow doctors to work at multiple medical institutes.

"In the past, residents in the district had to travel a long distance to hospitals affiliated with the university for treatment. Now, under this partnership, they can receive medical resources from these hospitals near their homes," said Huang Taocheng, an official from the district's health authorities.

The university will also undertake research on chronic and infectious diseases based on the large database of patients from the district.

"As a new attempt, the partnership, through learning from the international concept of an academic health system, will help extend medical education and lab research to communities and patients, and also accelerate the transformation from scientific research into application. This will benefit more patients and further deepen healthcare reform in the country," said Gui Yonghao, vice-president of Fudan University.

The plan also includes the establishment of a dental hospital affiliated to the university in the district.