Pilot program looks to connect elderly with nurses
By He Jieqiong
People's Daily app
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(Photo: VCG)

The “online nurse-hailing service”, through which one can order care services via a mobile app, has become official. The National Health Commission issued the pilot work program on "Internet + Nursing Services" on Tuesday, determining that the “Internet + Nursing Services” pilot will be conducted in six provinces and municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong. The pilot period is from February to December 2019.

According to the statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2017, the number of people aged 60 and over in China was 240 million, accounting for 17.3 percent of the total population. There were 150 million elderly people with chronic diseases in China, accounting for 65 percent of the total number of elderly people. About 40 million elderly people were disabled and half-disabled. The increase in disability, advanced age, and empty nesters has led to a surge in demand for home care services for many elderly people living with illness.

The program clearly defined "Internet + Nursing Services": it mainly refers to the use of nurses registered in particular institutions, relying on information technology such as the internet, and focusing on the "online application, offline services" model, providing care for discharged patients or special people with disabilities and mobility problems. 

According to the requirements of the program, registered nurses sent by pilot medical institutions should have at least five years of clinical nursing work experience and technical titles of nurses and above, and can be queried in the national nurse electronic registration system. It emphasizes providing care services ranging from chronic illness management, rehabilitation care, special care, and health education, to hospice care for people with advanced mobility, disabled elderly, convalescent patients, and end-stage patients.