It is difficult for Chinese people to seek medical treatment overseas. Multi-pronged approach to pay attention to needs to protect health

> Chinese people overseas have many difficulties in seeking medical treatment. Multi-pronged approach to pay attention to needs to protect health. Chinese people seeking medical treatment abroad are attracting more and more attention (attention from the overseas Chinese community). Differences in customs and languages between China and foreign countries...

Overseas Chinese seeking medical treatment are attracting more and more attention (attention from the overseas Chinese community)

> Problems such as differences in Chinese and foreign customs, language inconvenience, and cumbersome medical procedures have become obstacles for overseas Chinese to seek medical treatment. Today, medical institutions and relevant departments at home and abroad are paying more and more attention to the medical needs of the Chinese people. A multi-pronged approach will be taken to effectively protect the health interests of overseas Chinese.

Chinese people have many medical difficulties

The British Broadcasting Corporation recently published an article titled "Why Chinese Mothers in the UK Don't Go Out After Giving Birth", which caused a large number of reposts by Chinese people from all over the world. This article introduced the custom of "confinement" for Chinese women after giving birth, and called on all walks of life in the UK to understand the Chinese community and provide more targeted medical services for the Chinese.

Medical care is a very important issue in everyone's life, but for overseas Chinese, medical care is a "difficult" matter. Due to cultural differences, some traditional Chinese health and medical methods such as "confinement" are not recognized by foreign societies. In addition, expensive medical expenses have also become a concern for Chinese people seeking medical treatment. According to the US "World Journal" report, many Chinese in the United States "don't dare" to get sick. Compared with China, foreign medical expenses are too expensive. Even with medical insurance, a large portion of the cost still has to be paid out of pocket.

Especially for the elderly in the Chinese community, language is another obstacle that cannot be overcome on the way to seek medical treatment. Due to language barriers, many elderly people find it difficult to find mainstream medical service institutions that meet their needs, resulting in delays in their illness and missing the best treatment period.

Various difficulties make many Chinese reluctant to take the initiative to ask for help when they are sick. They tolerate it as long as they can, and only go to the hospital when they can't bear it anymore. However, mainstream medical institutions abroad do not have medical personnel dedicated to serving Chinese people, making it even more difficult for Chinese people to seek medical treatment.

Medical needs attract attention

Although overseas Chinese face a lot of troubles in seeking medical treatment, with the continuous improvement of the status of the Chinese, medical institutions in many countries have begun to pay attention to the medical needs of the Chinese.

A 170-year-old hospital in Argentina specializes in providing bilingual medical services to the Chinese community. The hospital has added Chinese guidance signs and provided 24-hour Chinese medical hotline consultation and call services. In addition, medical staff with Chinese backgrounds are specially hired to provide Chinese translation services during the medical treatment process.

"The biggest problem I encountered in British hospitals was the inconvenience of communication. Although I have lived in the UK for 6 years and am fluent in English, I was confused by medical terminology when communicating with medical staff. But the British doctors were very enthusiastic and asked me to describe my condition with pictures and took the trouble to communicate with me. It felt very warm." said Li Weiyang, who has lived in Newcastle, UK for 6 years.

In order to facilitate Chinese patients to seek medical treatment, the United States has established a network hospital for Chinese Americans, allowing patients to enjoy professional medical diagnosis and consultation without leaving home. "It is really convenient to see a doctor now. You can make an appointment with a doctor without leaving home." Wang Zhiqiang, who has lived in Houston, USA for many years, said, "I have been feeling uncomfortable before, but I didn't have enough time to go to the hospital for treatment. Recently, through an online hospital, I have an online video chat with the attending doctor to solve the health problems that troubled me."

In addition to Western countries, major hospitals in Japan and South Korea have also begun to equip Chinese translators. Japan has focused on the development of medical translation since 2014. Not only has the Japan Medical Translator Association been established, but there is also a special medical translation qualification examination. Higher education institutions such as Tokyo University of Foreign Studies have also launched special medical translation courses for Chinese and Japanese languages.

Multi-pronged approach to protect health

Nowadays, the medical problems of the Chinese have not only attracted attention from various countries, but also attracted the attention of Chinese medical institutions and related departments.

In 2015, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine signed the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement on Promoting the Overseas Chinese Medicine Benefit Plan" and specially formulated the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Care Plan". As an important part of the overseas benefit project, supporting domestic traditional Chinese medicine hospitals to carry out medical cooperation with mature overseas Chinese hospitals in various ways is a specific measure. The first visiting delegation of traditional Chinese medicine experts went to Belgium, Angola, Mauritius and other places to bring health consultation and free clinic activities to local overseas Chinese, and the response was very enthusiastic.

Many Chinese doctors also actively contribute to the Chinese medical cause. Chinese doctor Du Jinliang founded the "Chinese Medical Center" in Italy to provide translation assistance to Chinese with medical needs. There are also many Chinese doctors who have set up voluntary medical clinics in public hospitals in Europe, Australia and other countries to help China, leaving voicemails and email boxes specifically for Chinese people to facilitate the Chinese community in France to seek medical treatment.

The difficulties and obstacles in Chinese medical care are being constantly overcome, just like sailing a ship to cut ice. We need to take step-by-step actions to gradually implement and promote the development of Chinese medical care. The Chinese medical system is constantly improving and will better meet the medical needs of the Chinese people in the future. (Author: Hao Yuan, Tian Chen)