A Russian patient receives traditional Chinese medicine therapy at a hospital in Sanya, Hainan province, in February. (Photo provided to China Daily)
"The natural climate advantages that are essential to good health, the effectiveness and low cost of TCM resources that make TCM strongly competitive and the natural means of treatment that are gradually favored by more and more Western tourists promise bright prospects for medical tourism in Hainan."
Sanya hospitals are becoming hot spots for visits by those from both domestic and overseas medical institutions and agencies seeking experience and opportunities of cooperation.
Roshal Leonid Mikhailovich, president of the Russian National Medical Commission, spoke highly of Sanya's medical capabilities and its integration with Western medicine during a recent trip to inspect medical projects for rehabilitation and treatment of children with cerebral palsy in Sanya. He said the Russian commission had signed a framework on medical and healthcare cooperation with provincial health authorities, adding that he hoped to import Chinese medicine technology to Russia.
Another team of Russian experts, headed by C. Rosoff, an academician with the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and director of the Far East Respiratory Diseases Research Center, found broad prospects for cooperation with Sanya in the prevention and rehabilitation of respiratory diseases and the management of chronic diseases.
"I would like to come to Sanya to conduct clinical, research and education work," he said, after a recent visit observing the development of Sanya hospitals, the Phoenix Island cruise economy and island vacation centers.
"A number of other overseas agencies and companies also have shown interest in conducting cooperation of TCM service trade with our hospital, which is serving as a Sanya model for TCM healthcare tourism," said Wang of the Sanya hospital, which has a team of 198 veteran doctors.
Wang said his hospital will set up rehabilitation and healthcare centers to make full use of the precaution and healthcare functions of TCM to cope with health issues that affect people, such as insomnia, depression, anxiety and lumbar and cervical vertebra problems.
"More medical institutions, especially public hospitals, will actively engage in promoting the TCM service trade, after the designation of more demonstration bases" to promote TCM and tourism by the provincial authorities earlier this year," said Wu, head of the provincial TCM administration.
Government management and supervision of the TCM services also is being improved in the province.
"Hainan soon will release a set of regulations to help standardize and guide the innovative, healthy and sustainable growth of the TCM service trade and healthcare tourism in Hainan, cultivate more local brands and projects and promote internationalization of TCM by encouraging local medical bodies to open overseas TCM services on a cooperation basis," Wu said.
He said five provincial level workrooms will be open in Hainan to help attract famous doctors from around the country who could assist in attracting TCM talent and ensure quality services to overseas tourists and promote the overseas TCM services trade.
"Hainan, which has developed advanced technologies for growing southern herbal medicine, will also conduct more cooperation on growing, research and development of southern Chinese medicine with southeastern Asian countries under the Belt and Road Initiative and help build international teams to ensure sustainable utilization of southern medicine overseas," he said.
"While learning from countries with good medical tourism experience such as Japan, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea, Hainan will put emphasize on developing light medical tourism products that highlight Hainan's natural resources, such as hot spring spas, TCM massaging, forest hiking and golfing," said Sun Ying, director of the Hainan Tourism Development Commission.
"Cooperation with the World Medical Tourism Association, the World Society of Anti-Aging Medicine and the China Health Management Association will be strengthened to introduce international service brands."
