▲Data map: Qingdao West Coast New District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital arranges nurses online to provide door-to-door services after accepting orders. Photo/Xinhua News Agency “Few people know about it, few use it, and few nurses participate.” According to CCTV, in 2019

▲Data map: Qingdao West Coast New District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital arranges nurses online to provide door-to-door services after accepting orders. Photo/Xinhua News Agency

"Few people know about it, few use it, and few nurses participate."

According to CCTV, in 2019, the National Health Commission began to promote "Internet + Nursing Services" and "Online Appointment for Nurses" Obtained official recognition and officially tested the waters. In the past five years, although certain results have been achieved, overall the popularity of "online nurse appointment" is far from ideal, and it faces the embarrassment of "approval but not success".

The reason, in layman’s terms, is that on the one hand it is “unaffordable”. It is true that many patients, especially the disabled, need home services from “online appointments with nurses”. However, according to CCTV, in addition to service fees, patients also need to pay for consumables and mileage. Generally, the total cost is 8 to 10 times that of public hospitals, and most places do not include it in medical insurance. Many people "hear the price" I won’t ask any more questions.”

, on the other hand, is "not for sale." There are not many "online appointments for nurses". Although the service charges are not low, there are only a limited number of nurses who can "make this meal". According to relevant regulations, "nurse appointment online" must have more than 5 years of work experience and a technical title of nurse or above. This threshold alone excludes many nurses.

In addition, the "doctor-nurse ratio" of many public hospitals has not yet reached the 1:2 proposed by the General Office of the State Council in the "Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Public Hospitals". The 2023 National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin shows that at the end of 2023 , there are 12.47 million health technicians in the country, including 4.78 million practicing physicians and practicing assistant physicians, and 5.63 million registered nurses. Experts calculate that the shortage of nurses nationwide is close to 4 million.

Due to the shortage of manpower and heavy work tasks, many nurses have already tried their best just to go to work, and it is difficult for them to have spare energy to engage in "online appointment nurses".

At the same time, statistics from the National Health Commission show that currently there are about 190 million elderly people in my country suffering from chronic diseases. Among them, the number of disabled, semi-disabled and dementia elderly people has reached 45 million, and 90% of the elderly are in home care. In this context, breaking the embarrassment of being popular but not popular and activating the "online nurse appointment" market is undoubtedly of great significance to people's livelihood.

On the demand side, efforts should be made to improve the paying ability of relevant groups, especially the disabled. For example, the "long-term care insurance" pilot project can further expand coverage.

Long-term care insurance is called the "sixth insurance" of social security. The insured person can enjoy corresponding nursing care and financial compensation when he or she loses his/her ability to live in daily life, becomes ill in old age, or dies. In 2016, our country started pilot work; in 2020, the scope of the pilot was expanded. So far, the long-term care insurance pilot program has covered 49 cities, allowing many disabled people to obtain economical and convenient door-to-door care services.

At present, the long-term care insurance pilot project is about to enter its 10th year. Promoting the further expansion of long-term care insurance coverage should also be included in policy considerations.

On the supply side, we might as well base ourselves on the present and do a good job of "subtraction" first so that more qualified nurses can participate.

The so-called "reduction" means reducing the non-nursing workload of nurses. Based on the actual situation, every hospital may wish to examine itself to see which aspects and aspects it can make a difference in, so that nurses can devote more energy to their core work, and even have enough energy to provide door-to-door nursing services.

takes a long-term view and needs to do a good job of "addition" so that more people are willing to apply for the nursing major and engage in the nursing industry, and continue to expand the talent base of "online appointments for nurses."

This requires continuous tilt toward clinical front-line nurses in terms of salary, professional title promotion, etc. Just in June this year, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Key Tasks for Deepening the Reform of the Medical and Health System in 2024" and proposed "guaranteeing the treatment of nursing staff."

For this reason, some experts pointed out that with reference to the Teachers' Law and the Physician's Law, my country's "Nurses Regulations" should also be upgraded to the Nurses' Law, which can better provide protection for nurses' treatment and support the long-term healthy development of the entire team. This suggestion may also need to be carefully examined.

As people age, become frail and sick, and become "disabled" to the point of "being unable to go anywhere," this may be a dilemma that most people cannot avoid. Paying attention to the development of home care services means paying attention to the dignity and quality of everyone's life in their later years.

Therefore, the embarrassment of "online nurse appointments" being popular but not popular cannot be taken lightly. Relevant parties should also "take their seats" as soon as possible, anchor the supply and demand sides, implement policies and solutions from the institutional arrangements, not only check for leaks and fill gaps, but also strengthen strengths and weaknesses, and strive to promote the prosperity of this market.

writing/Zhang Yu (media person)

editor/Chi Daohua

proofread/Zhang Yanjun