China's newest city, Sansha, in the South China Sea, has received remote diagnosis facilities, enabling fishermen and other locals to consult experienced doctors in distant better-equipped hospitals.
The facilities include a high-definition video conferencing system, a picture archiving and communications system, and portable electrocardiography monitors.
The equipment, donated by the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, arrived at Sansha People's Hospital Friday.
"Sansha's health care system is starting from scratch. Internet technology brings high-quality health care in developed regions to us," said Zhuang Zhongjun, a Hainan Province health official.
Trials of long-distance diagnosis have been conducted, connecting a makeshift clinic on a boat with a doctors' office in the Zhejiang hospital. About 20 fishermen consulted doctors on their symptoms ranging from itching skin to a sore neck.
It has been well received, but the weak Internet connection sometimes causes disruptions.
Wang Jian'an, president of the Zhejiang hospital, said his hospital would regularly send doctors to Sansha to complement the distance medical service and to boost disease prevention.
China set up the Sansha municipality in 2012. The city government is located on Yongxing Island, the largest island of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.
