Every year, tens of thousands of
Chinese women travel overseas — as far as the United States — for an injection
of 9-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) cervical cancer vaccine. But that large
number of special travelers from the Chinese mainland may be reduced as the
vaccine will soon be made available at Boao Lecheng International Medical
Tourism Pilot Zone, in South China’s Hainan province.
Shen Xiaoming, governor of Hainan, told the media recently that
9-valent HPV cervical cancer vaccine will be available sometime soon at Boao
Super Hospital, which opened on March 31 at the international medical tourism
pilot zone, the only one in China.
This means that Hainan will be the first place to offer 9-valent
HPV cervical cancer vaccine in the Chinese mainland.
“Hainan, as China’s only provincial special economic zone, should
fully take advantage of the special policies granted by the State to the zone
to develop the healthcare industry as a pillar industry,” said Shen. He hopes
that Hainan will develop a high-end medical services industry, with Boao
Lecheng pilot zone playing a leading role.
“It should not just be a medical services provider, but also a driving
sector for Hainan,” said Shen.
Official statistics show more than 600,000 Chinese went abroad as
medical tourists last year.
Being a demonstration project launched to pilot the nation’s
healthcare reform in 2013 and a platform for international medical tourism
cooperation and communication, the Boao Lecheng pilot zone enjoys nine special
preferential policies such as special permission for importing medical
technology, medical equipment and medicine, under which foreign companies will
be able to set up medical organizations in the zone and foreign medicines can
enjoy special import tariffs.
It is allowed to import 9-valent HPV cervical cancer vaccine and
other drugs without asking permission from the central authorities, as other
provinces and regions have to, for the time being.
The pilot zone, 6 kilometers from the site of the Boao Forum for
Asia, covers an area of 20 square kilometers and is expected to be completed in
five years. To date, 27 projects have been completed or are under
construction.
Five of them have opened, offering high-end medical services. And
the latest one, Boao Super Hospital, is a sharing platform for clinical centers
supported by latest state-of-the-art equipment and served by leading doctors
from all over the country.
Unlike most domestic hospitals that are run by the government,
Boao Super Hospital adopts a marketwise operation and accepts investments of
either private or foreign nature, according to He Pengfei, deputy director of
the administration committee for the Boao Lecheng pilot zone.
He said the government owns the sharing platform, providing
essential services including imaging diagnosis, surgery, pharmacy and
sterilization for the clinics. But the operation mode will be brand new. Each
clinic is allowed to set up its own company and has its own legal person.
“The hospital will provide high-end international medical services
for domestic patients, and also plans to build an international clinical
medical innovation center for wealthy medical travelers from all over the
world, by taking the geographical advantage of Hainan and the increasing
influence of the Boao Forum for Asia,” He added.
So far, leading veteran doctors in 10 medical subjects, including
departments of infectious diseases, urology, plastic and medical beauty, have
confirmed they will settle at the hospital.
Boao Yiling Life Care Center, the first of its kind in China that
provides comprehensive life care services, is a high-end medical tourism
service institution which has been operating in Boao since early last year.
With an investment of 60 million yuan ($9.5 million), and covering
an area of 3.7 hectares in its first phase, the center now has more than
220,000 members all over the world.
Beyond advanced Western medical technologies, the members can also
receive traditional Chinese medicine treatments at the center.
2018-04-09, MA ZHIPING and LIU XIAOLI in Haikou
Contact the writers at mazhiping@chinadaily.com.cn
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