Internet hospital helps cure Tumxuk patients

People in Tumxuk, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are enjoying more convenient medical treatment and a wider range of cultural choices thanks to ongoing support from Dongguan, Guangdong province.

Officials from Dongguan's Xinjiang-supporting work team said improvement of Tumxuk residents' livelihoods has been a major focus of their work.

Of the 3.45 billion yuan ($535 million) worth of funds poured into Tumxuk by Dongguan from 2016 to 2020, over 85 percent was used in the field, with a number of schools, hospitals, cultural facilities and houses being built.

Patients in Tumxuk used to face difficulties gaining access to convenient and high-quality medical services due to the city's extensive area and relatively underdeveloped medical infrastructure.

To help ease the problem, an internet hospital has been set up. The hospital, built by Tumxuk People's Hospital and Chinese business-to-consumer pharmaceutical e-commerce platform Jianke, allows patients to receive medical treatment at home.

Previously, patients with chronic diseases had to travel a long way to hospitals. Now, they can consult a doctor at the internet hospital with their mobile phones and get medicine sent to their homes, said Xie Fangmin, chairman and CEO of Guangdong-based Jianke.

The online hospital also makes it possible for local patients to receive better medical services by enabling remote consultation.

"Critical patients or those with complex diseases can now get the most advanced medical services in Tumxuk with remote consultation from medical experts from all across the country," said Li Fangming, one of the Xinjiang-supporting doctors from Dongguan, who is now deputy head of Tumxuk People's Hospital.

So far, forty patients have received medical treatment from the internet hospital and recovered through remote consultation.

Meanwhile, cultural activities are being carried out to enrich local people's lives.

"We have been attaching great importance to cultural development in the city," said Yuan Minfang, deputy head of Tumxuk's culture, radio, television, sports and tourism bureau. "We hope that local people can enjoy a more colorful cultural life."

To achieve that, 126 million yuan has been spent building three cultural facilities in the city－a cultural center, library and museum－with nearly 70 percent of the money coming from Guangdong.

"I hope to cultivate 100 guzheng (Chinese zither) teachers in three years' time," said Ye Meiying, who came from Dongguan to support Xinjiang development and now teaches guzheng at the Tumxuk cultural center.

"Then, they could influence their families, friends and others, allowing more people to learn the art of guzheng and promote its development."