The Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, along with three other bureaus, has jointly released the “Work Plan for Deepening the Pilot of Opening up Wholly Foreign Owned Hospital Sector in Shanghai.” The plan allows the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in Shanghai, excluding traditional Chinese medicine hospitals and mergers and acquisitions of public hospitals.
Target Areas for Establishment
The document encourages the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in pilot areas such as the Free Trade Zone, Lingang Special Area, Hongqiao Business District, and the Shanghai eastern hub international business cooperation zone. It also supports their establishment in areas where the biopharmaceutical industry is concentrated and in central urban areas with a significant foreign resident population. In principle, no more than two such hospitals should be set up within each special functional area and areas with a high concentration of foreigners.
Operational and Regulatory Conditions
Wholly foreign-owned hospitals shall be established and operated in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and must meet the following conditions:
- They can be for-profit or non-profit.
- Hospitals are classified as comprehensive hospitals, specialized hospitals, and rehabilitation hospitals, with a hospital level of three. It is not allowed to establish psychiatric hospitals, infectious disease hospitals, hematology hospitals, traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, integrated Chinese and Western medicine hospitals, or ethnic minority medicine hospitals.
- Diagnosis and treatment subjects are not allowed to be registered in the Hematology Department.
- Medical and ethical risk diagnosis and treatment activities shall not be carried out, including human organ transplantation technology, human assisted reproductive technology, prenatal screening and diagnosis technology, psychiatric inpatient treatment, experimental treatment of new tumor cell therapy technologies, etc.
- These hospitals are allowed to hire foreign physicians, doctors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as well as other healthcare professionals from Hong Kong, Macao, and other regions for short-term practice in accordance with regulations. The proportion of Chinese (mainland) personnel in the management and healthcare professionals of the entire hospital must be no less than 50%.
- The hospital information management system should be connected to the municipal and district medical service supervision platforms, and electronic medical records, medical equipment, and other information storage servers should be located within the territory of China.
- Hospitals that comply with relevant medical insurance regulations can apply to be designated medical insurance medical institutions according to procedures. These hospitals are also encouraged to connect with domestic and foreign commercial health insurance.
Significance of the Initiative
This initiative by the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission marks a significant step towards opening up the healthcare sector to foreign investment. By allowing the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in strategic areas, Shanghai aims to enhance the quality and diversity of healthcare services, attract international expertise, and promote the integration of domestic and international healthcare systems.-Fineline Info & Tech
