Shanghai aims to become one of world's safest cities in public health by 2025
People line up at Ruijin Hospital yesterday. The Shanghai government released guidelines yesterday to create a unified, efficient, scientific and precise public health emergency management system within five years.
Shanghai will improve its ability to cope with major epidemic and public health emergencies to become one of the world’s safest cities for public health by 2025.
The city government released guidelines yesterday to create a unified, efficient, rapid response, scientific and precise public health emergency management system within five years.
Prevention will be the main focus, while infrastructure and facilities will serve both normal use and emergency situations. High technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and blockchain will be applied to help achieve active, scientific and precise epidemic prevention and control, according to the guidelines.
Based on the city’s one-stop urban management platform, Shanghai will establish a city-level public health emergency command information system, along with a smart decision-making platform for joint epidemic prevention and control.
The intelligent platforms are expected to help decision makers understand the epidemic situation, coordinate medical resources, publicize important information, give key orders, organize various departments as well as predict trends.
A public health monitoring and early warning system has also been planned. Monitoring sites will be established at local fever and enteric clinics to monitor new infectious diseases, food-borne diseases and diseases of unknown origins.
Hospitals and medical institutes of all levels will share information based on residents’ electronic health profile system. Big data and AI technologies will be used to evaluate and track epidemics and trigger alerts.
Shanghai will also target the top international standards of disease prevention and control. Local disease prevention and control institutes will enhance their abilities for on-site investigation and treatment, information analysis, inspection and scientific research.
A multi-level emergency treatment system will be established among specialized city-level hospitals, city-level treatment centers, regional treatment centers and community health service centers.
Local districts should enhance the allocation of infectious disease treatment resources. They are encouraged to build separate infectious disease hospitals. Traditional Chinese medicine will be highlighted in the emergency treatment.
To cope with emergency, major public facilities will be able to convert into emergency medical facilities. Newly built large constructions should take this into consideration, to serve both normal use and emergencies.
The operational efficiency of the public health emergency system will be further enhanced. A series of emergency schemes, such as emergency training, drills and requisitions, will be established. Basic medical services should be ensured even in emergencies for patients in series condition, patients requiring regular treatment, pregnant women and children.
A quick response system, including epidemic collection, reports and alerts, will be built. Reward and punishment mechanisms will be established to ensure prompt information reporting.
Regular public health emergency drills and plans in different scenarios will be conducted to enhance public participation and awareness. Residents will be rewarded to tip off useful public health information.
Precise prevention based on big data and risk evaluation is expected to reduce the influence on normal life and production during emergencies. Intelligent checkpoints and temperature check facilities will be set up at key areas at local medical institutes, public transport and public sites.
The city government also aims to build a batch of high-standard facilities on disease prevention and control.
They include a public health emergency headquarters and a national infectious disease prevention platform as well as various inspection labs, bacteria banks, biological sample banks, gene inspection and biological information platform and vaccine clinical trial center.
A batch of key public health academic disciplines with global influence and competence will be developed, along with subjects on TCM’s prevention and treatment for infectious disease.
Local medical schools are encouraged to open or enhance the academic disciplines of public health, preventive medicine and infectious disease. They are also asked to expand recruitment and training of international public health professionals.
The salary for public health medical workers will also be increased. Better pay will also be offered for those working in disease prevention and control, first-aid, blood collecting, health information and public medical institutes.
