SHANGHAI JING'AN

Building a Leading Healthcare District for a Modern International Metropolis

Released on:2026-05-29 Views:

区长访谈

Guest

Tian Guodong

Interview Background

The year 2026 marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. At this new stage of development, how will Jing'an commit to its goal of "International Jing'an: An Outstanding Urban Area" and play a leading role in and contribute to Shanghai's "Five Centers" initiative? For this interview, we are joined by two distinguished guests: Tian Guodong, Vice Chair of the Health Commission of Jing'an District, and Luo Li, Party Secretary of Fudan University School of Public Health. They will delve into the core health objectives for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, covering the development of a compact urban medical and health group, the "Health First" strategy, the modernization of the disease control system, and the balance between data empowerment and privacy protection.

Host:

Tian Guodong:

Hello, host. Hello, everyone.

Luo Li:

Hello, host. Hello, everyone.

Host:

What is the plan for the health sector of Jing'an District during the 15th Five-Year Plan period?

Tian Guodong:

Jing'an District's health sector will remain firmly committed to the vision of "International Jing'an: An Outstanding Urban Area." With a people-centered approach to health, it will drive the transformation of medical resources from "quantitative sufficiency" to "optimized structure, balanced distribution, and standardized services." The focus is on building an integrated health service system that closely connects prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and care, characterized by an optimized layout, coordinated resources, high efficiency, and strong resilience. Ultimately, the goal is to establish a model health district befitting a modern socialist international metropolis.

Host:

Focusing on optimizing the spatial layout, let's take a look at the new collaborative framework of "One Axis, One Network, One Circle, and Three Zones." Could you please give us a detailed introduction?

Tian Guodong:

Certainly. First, we need to strengthen the "One Axis." We will develop a core support axis for regional medical services. With three regional medical centers—Jing'an District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jing'an District Zhabei Central Hospital, and Shibei Hospital—as the core, we will enhance the diagnosis and treatment capabilities for acute, critical, and complex diseases. Jing'an District Central Hospital will align itself with the standards of Grade-A tertiary hospitals to build the National Clinical Research Center on Geriatric Diseases and the Innovative Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly; Shanghai Jing'an District Zhabei Central Hospital will construct a medical complex building and a regional public health clinical center to upgrade the hospital's capacity and become an affiliated hospital of Tongji University; Shibei Hospital will benchmark against the standards of Grade-B tertiary hospitals to develop into a medical hub in the northern area.

Host:

Then, what does "One Network" refer to in the new collaborative framework of "One Axis, One Network, One Circle, and Three Zones"?

Tian Guodong:

The goal of building a robust "Network" is to establish a specialty-led coverage network. For traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the Jing'an District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is working toward establishing a university-affiliated hospital in accordance with the standards for tertiary TCM hospitals. It will develop leading TCM specialty clusters to enhance the district-wide TCM services and preventive care. Regarding mental health, we will integrate the north and south campuses of the Mental Health Center of the district, add psychological clinics to all community health centers, and build a comprehensive mental health service system for all residents. For rehabilitation services, Shanghai No. 3 and No. 4 Rehabilitation Hospitals, which serve as rehabilitation hubs for the southern and northern groups, respectively, will apply for accreditation as tertiary specialized rehabilitation hospitals and develop into university-affiliated hospitals, thus bridging the rehabilitation service chain that links general hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, and communities.

Tian Guodong:

In addition, we will expand the "One Circle" by developing a specialty alliance circle around Grade-A tertiary hospitals. This involves collaborating with top-tier municipal hospitals, such as Grade-A tertiary hospitals, including Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, and Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Through these partnerships, we will introduce high-quality specialty resources and advanced technologies to elevate the service capacity in key areas such as cardiology, neurology, and oncology. Concurrently, we will strengthen the "Three Zones" to promote clustered, integrated development. Specifically, we will establish three compact urban healthcare groups (general hospitals + specialized hospitals + community health centers) within the southern, central, and northern zones. This model aims to achieve coordinated resource allocation, standardized service quality, and a precise alignment of health resources with population distribution.

Host:

Thank you for the overview, Mr. Tian. We understand that the goal is to evolve from a loose "physical aggregation" of medical institutions into a truly "chemically integrated" urban healthcare network, a seamless system with clear accountability, efficient operation, collaborative division of labor, continuous care pathways, and shared information. Could you please elaborate on the specific differences?

Tian Guodong:

Certainly. First, the foundation of collaboration has changed. Earlier arrangements relied on "loose linkage" between institutions, whereas the new model features "high-level coordination, substantive integration, and unified governance." The Southern Group is led by Jing'an District Central Hospital and includes Shanghai Beizhan Hospital in Jing'an District, Shanghai No. 4 Rehabilitation Hospital, and seven community health centers. The Central Group is led by Shanghai Jing'an District Zhabei Central Hospital, partnering with the Jing'an District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and four community health centers. The Northern Group is led by Shibei Hospital, alongside Shanghai No. 3 Rehabilitation Hospital and four community health centers. Each group has established dedicated task forces to ensure the reforms are fully implemented. Second, the mechanism of integration has changed. We have progressed beyond isolated collaboration to achieve "ten-fold integration" across the entire service chain. This encompasses integration in personnel, compensation, finance, healthcare insurance, clinical care, public health, research/education, information systems, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment/supplies. This holistic approach is designed to dismantle systemic barriers, effecting a qualitative leap from mere "connection" to true "integration." Third, the pattern of service delivery has changed. Previously, patients needed to head to higher-level hospitals for treatment, whereas under the new model, quality medical resources are deployed down to community facilities. Within each group, resources are shared across member institutions: beds, appointment slots, and equipment are pooled and allocated uniformly, with mutual recognition of test results. Enrolled residents receive priority for consultations, diagnostics, and hospitalization. High-caliber medical resources, such as specialist physicians, senior nurses, and pharmacists, are routinely stationed at community sites. We are also strengthening specialized alliances in areas like TCM, rehabilitation, maternal and child healthcare, mental health, and stomatology to deliver standardized care at primary-level institutions. Last, the underlying philosophy has changed. The old mindset centered on disease treatment, whereas the new approach puts people's health at its core. Each group concentrates on full-population, full-process, and full-life-cycle health management. Leveraging its TCM hospital, the Central Group develops clustered specialty departments by leveraging its distinctive strengths in TCM and scales up preventive healthcare ("zhi wei bing") and TCM services. Drawing on their rehabilitation hospitals, the Southern and Northern Groups ramp up rehabilitation, nursing, and attendant care services. They push ahead with the integration of clinical treatment and preventive care and adopt the dual model of "health prescriptions plus social prescriptions" to front-load health management and cut residents' unnecessary hospital trips at source. This approach reduces unnecessary patient travel by bringing premium care to communities, making residents' healthcare more accessible and health outcomes more secure for all residents.

Host:

Thanks for your introduction. Through resource integration, you have illustrated the "Four Transformations" for a compact urban medical and health group. In addition, while guided by the "Health First" principle, we have established a collaborative governance framework that caters to the people of all age groups.

Tian Guodong:

Exactly. First, we step up efforts to promote healthy lifestyles for all age groups. This involves fully rolling out the Social Prescribing for Health model, integrating medical services with community cultural activities and social support. Through non-medical interventions, we will guide residents to develop healthy lifestyles, including a balanced diet, regular physical exercise, smoking cessation, and alcohol restriction. We will comprehensively build a health-supportive environment and optimize the monitoring, assessment, and intervention systems for environmental health risks. We will enhance the capacity for food safety risk monitoring and early warning, implement the Healthy Diet Campaign and the National Nutrition Plan, and continue to carry out healthy weight management programs. Second, we will strengthen the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic diseases among the elderly. We are scaling up interventions against common geriatric diseases and degenerative diseases, strengthening the integrated development of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation for people with cognitive impairment, and providing multi-tiered, personalized health management and services integrating medical and elderly care resources for the elderly in different age groups. To address the prevalent issues of insufficient protein intake and sarcopenia risk among the elderly, we will continue to implement the Healthy Diet Campaign. With the development of "nutrition-supportive communities" and "health-focused canteens" as our priorities, we will promote the provision of age-appropriate nutritional meals and health support services in communities, elderly care facilities, and other settings. This will promote age-appropriate nutritious meals and health support in communities and care facilities, creating a widely accessible, well-supported nutrition-friendly environment for the elderly. Finally, we will develop a full-cycle, one-stop, accessible, and tangible occupational health promotion system tailored to the health needs of white-collar professionals. In office buildings and industrial parks with a high density of white-collar populations, four categories of services—basic medical care, basic public health services, rehabilitation nursing, and family doctor contracting services—will be delivered through community health centers (stations) within a 15-minute walking radius. We target prevalent health issues among white-collar workers, such as sedentary lifestyles, eye strain, pain in the neck, shoulders, lower back and legs, obesity, high stress levels, and poor sleep, providing differentiated, end-to-end, actionable intervention services. With health fairs, fun tick-off challenges, online sharing groups, regular lectures, and training programs as the delivery channels, we will develop an end-to-end service model featuring "screening – intervention – skill building – follow-up." This will form a closed-loop management process that follows the sequence of "needs assessment → immediate service delivery → targeted intervention → skill enhancement → long-term follow-up," and drive the shift of health services from passive treatment-seeking to proactive health management.

Luo Li:

I would summarize Jing'an's planning in three lenses. First comes human touch. The district delivers extensive people-centered care for residents, enabling them to fully grasp how medical resources are allocated and what healthcare services are available, which is of great importance. The second is strategic vision. Anchored in its development positioning of "International Jing'an: An Outstanding Urban Area," Jing'an will align its development with Shanghai's plan and global standards. The district has rolled out plenty of forward-looking planning and pilot initiatives to upgrade clinical quality and expand access to high-caliber medical resources. The third lies in robust execution momentum. The restructuring of medical resources, scaled-up infrastructure development, and high-end talent recruitment schemes all showcase Jing'an's solid initiatives geared toward the 2035 goals of Healthy China and Healthy Shanghai, reflecting the district's forceful rollout of reform.

Host:

Thank you two for sharing with us. Next, let's discuss how to strengthen the public health emergency response system and improve public safety assurance.

Tian Guodong:

Building on the joint meeting system for public health work, we will continue to consolidate and improve the joint prevention and control mechanism, and further refine a public health emergency management system featuring unified command, integrated specialized and routine-response capabilities, rapid response, and coordinated response across all levels. We will strengthen primary-level public health governance, enhance guidance for the public health committees of residents' committees, and establish a primary-level public health management mechanism that enables dynamic alignment between routine management and emergency management. The three-year action plan to strengthen the public health system will continue to be implemented. We will also elevate the capabilities of district-affiliated general medical institutions in infectious disease diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, testing, training, and emergency response, consolidate the public health functions of community health centers, and strengthen primary-level capabilities in disease prevention and treatment, health management, and emergency coordination.

Luo Li:

We will enhance the capacity for infectious disease surveillance and early warning and build a digital multi-channel monitoring network spanning diseases, syndromes, pathogens, incidents, risk factors, and public opinion. Efforts will be accelerated to develop a multi-trigger, rapid-response, authoritative, and efficient infectious disease surveillance, early-warning system, and its supporting response mechanisms. Relevant cross-departmental working mechanisms for risk assessment and joint consultation will be reinforced to create a comprehensive, multi-dimensional system for public health risk identification. We will elevate emergency response capabilities and institutionalize the mechanisms for inter-departmental collaboration in epidemiological investigation and response. Work will proceed to roll out a digital-enabled emergency management operation system with district-wide connectivity and centralized command for infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies. Ongoing standardization will be advanced for district and community grassroots infectious disease emergency teams, and priority will be given to enhancing core competencies, including on-site epidemiological investigation and management, alongside health security support for major events and response to and containment of large-scale outbreaks.

Host:

Thank you two for sharing with us. When it comes to data integration capabilities, how can we unlock the potential of data to drive quality improvement and efficiency gains in healthcare?

Tian Guodong:

We will establish an intelligent health service platform by integrating the regional health information platforms, tiered diagnosis and treatment platforms, Internet-based medical service platforms, and electronic health records. We will also significantly scale up the application of generative AI in healthcare, driving an intelligent upgrade of both online and offline services under the "Healthy Jing'an" initiative, covering triage guidance, medication advice, test report interpretation, and health follow-ups.

Luo Li:

In addition, we will advance the development and application of the summary page of electronic health records, build a comprehensive health data repository based on the "one code, one record" framework, and optimize the "health profiling" function. We will explore technologies that facilitate secure medical data sharing while protecting personal privacy. Work will continue to refine the TCM chronic disease management platform, deploy an intelligent TCM auxiliary clinical diagnosis system, and roll out smart TCM pharmacies. Data fields will be classified and tiered using a hybrid "AI-based identification + manual verification" approach. Low-sensitivity data, such as publicly available hospital contact numbers and reference ranges of laboratory test values, may be utilized openly to support health education initiatives and people-centric public services. Any data shall be used only within a strictly defined scope and with explicit user consent.

Tian Guodong:

Exactly. Building on the advantages of the "Digital Connectivity Blockchain Valley" in Jing'an District, we will actively pursue the implementation of blockchain technology in healthcare and advance the development of a blockchain-based health record management platform. We will make full use of the features of blockchain technology, including immutability, complete audit trail, traceability, and decentralization, to manage the authorization, approval, and governance of residents' health data.

Host:

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Jing'an District will operate from a more strategic vantage point and with a broader vision, leverage its distinctive strengths to the fullest in the health service system of Shanghai, continuously enhance the brand profile and influence of medical innovation and health services, build a health service benchmark with Jing'an characteristics, lay a solid health foundation to lead the way in the fundamental realization of socialist modernization, and strive to write a new and illustrious chapter in the high-quality development of the health sector for "International Jing'an: An Outstanding Urban Area." Thank you both for your insightful sharing. That brings our interview to a close today! Thank you.

Tian Guodong:

Thank you, everyone! Goodbye!

Luo Li:

Thank you, everyone! Goodbye!