"International clinic" is a colloquial term used by expats in China for a privately owned clinic or hospital that possesses specific characteristics, which separates it from the various domestic healthcare establishments. International clinics are generally much more expensive than public hospitals and will be able to accept non-Chinese insurance.[ citation needed ] In Beijing, there are a number of such companies, the most prominent being Puhua International Hospital - Shuangjing, [1] Beijing United Family Hospital [2] and International SOS. [3]
Private medical institutions outside of Traditional Chinese Medicine clinics is a relatively new concept in China with healthcare being synonymous with large public hospitals. Beijing boasts some of the most famous and well reputed medical facilities such as the Xie He, Chaoyang and Tiantan Hospitals.
For expats, the accessibility of these services are limited due to language barriers and a gap between what is given and what is expected of a hospital by western standards. Public hospitals require patients to first take a number (Gua hao), following which they will normally wait several hours to see a doctor. Consultations are generally very short and many expat patients can be surprised at the level of customer service available.
International clinics will offer a similar level of service as one might expect from a private clinic in Europe or the United States and as such is the primary choice of expats in Beijing, particularly those with international health insurance.
There are a number of common traits that an organization must possess to be considered an International Clinic. An organization does not need to necessarily have all of them to qualify. [4] The most apparent traits are:
Puhua International Hospital - Shuangjing is located in the Central Business District(CBD) of Beijing, this clinic offers outpatient services to complement the full service Puhua hospital near Temple of Heaven. This clinic is well known for its focus on specialist areas and is famous for Orthopedics, Neurology, Chiropractic, Pediatrics and Gynecology. They have many foreign doctors and most of the staff is fluent in English.
Beijing United Family Hospital is located in the north east of Beijing, UFH is one of the larger international hospitals with clinics around the city. It is known as the first full-service international hospital established in Beijing but also as the most expensive. It boasts the largest staff roster with many famous Chinese specialists working part-time. UFH also has many expatriate doctors as well as the highest English speaking staff ratio.
International SOS is primarily a medical evacuation and insurance company but have opened outpatient clinics in several cities. The International SOS clinic offers a range of services in-house and through relationships with other hospitals and clinics. This clinic is famous for its emergency medical services and has relationships with most of Beijing's Fortune 500 companies. They are located in the East of Beijing within the third ring road.
Medicare is an unofficial designation used to refer to the publicly funded single-payer healthcare system of Canada. Canada's health care system consists of 13 provincial and territorial health insurance plans, which provide universal healthcare coverage to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and depending on the province or territory, certain temporary residents. The systems are individually administered on a provincial or territorial basis, within guidelines set by the federal government. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.
The healthcare industry is an aggregation and integration of sectors within the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, and palliative care. It includes the generation and commercialization of goods and services lending themselves to maintaining and re-establishing health. The modern healthcare industry includes three essential branches which are services, products, and finance, and may be divided into many sectors and categories and depends on the interdisciplinary teams of trained professionals and paraprofessionals to meet the health needs of individuals and populations.
A clinic is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs of populations in local communities, in contrast to larger hospitals which offer more specialized treatments and admit inpatients for overnight stays.
Two-tier healthcare is a situation in which a basic government-provided healthcare system provides basic care, and a secondary tier of care exists for those who can pay for additional, better quality or faster access. Most countries have both publicly and privately funded healthcare, but the degree to which it creates a quality differential depends on the way the two systems are managed, funded, and regulated.
Health care in Ireland is delivered through public and private healthcare. The public health care system is governed by the Health Act 2004, which established a new body to be responsible for providing health and personal social services to everyone living in Ireland – the Health Service Executive. The new national health service came into being officially on 1 January 2005; however the new structures are currently in the process of being established as the reform programme continues. In addition to the public-sector, there is also a large private healthcare market.
Romania offers benefits of a universal healthcare system. The state finances primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. Public health campaigns are independently financed by the Government of Romania. The Ministry of Health of Romania is required to manage and supervise the public healthcare sector. For 2013, the budget allocated for the healthcare sector is US$2.6 billion, or roughly 1.7% of the GDP.
In China, the practice of medicine is a mixture of government, charitable, and private institutions, while many people rely on traditional medicine. Until reforms in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, physicians were quasi-government employees and with little freedom in the choice of the hospital to work with. In addition, decades of planned economic policy discouraged physicians from opening their own clinics, and the practice of medicine was generally under the control of local units, such as factories, government, offices, or communes. The reforms created a largely private practice, and physicians now are encouraged to open private clinics and for-profit hospitals.
Health care in Saudi Arabia is a national health care system in which the government provides free universal healthcare coverage through a number of government agencies. There is also a growing role and increased participation from the private sector in the provision of health care services. Saudi Arabia has been ranked among the 26 best countries in providing high quality healthcare.
International SOS is a health and security service firm. The company takes around four million assistance calls every year and has almost two-thirds of the Fortune Global 500 companies as clients.
Healthcare in China has undergone basic changes over the twentieth century and twenty-first centuries, using both public and private medical institutions and insurance programs. As of 2020, about 95% of the population has at least basic health insurance coverage. Basic medical insurance includes two systems: employee medical insurance and resident medical insurance. The former covers the urban employed population, and the latter covers the urban non-employed population and the rural population. A total of 25% of the people covered by the basic medical insurance participated in the employee medical insurance, a total of 344 million people; 75% participated in the residents' medical insurance, a total of 1.017 billion people. Medical assistance has subsidized 78 million poor people to participate in basic medical insurance, and the coverage of poor people has stabilized at over 99.9%. Despite this, public health insurance generally only covers about half of medical costs, with the proportion lower for serious or chronic illnesses. Under the "Healthy China 2020" initiative, China has undertaken an effort to cut healthcare costs, requiring insurance to cover 70% of costs by the end of 2018. In addition, there are policies such as critical illness insurance and medical assistance.
Healthcare in the Netherlands is differentiated into several main categories. Firstly in three different echelons; secondly in physical (somatic) versus mental healthcare; and thirdly in "cure" versus "care".
Healthcare in England is mainly provided by the National Health Service (NHS), a public body that provides healthcare to all permanent residents in England, that is free at the point of use. The body is one of four forming the UK National Health Service as health is a devolved matter; there are differences with the provisions for healthcare elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and in England it is overseen by NHS England. Though the public system dominates healthcare provision in England, private health care and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available for those willing and able to pay.
Healthcare in Israel is universal and participation in a medical insurance plan is compulsory. All Israeli residents are entitled to basic health care as a fundamental right. The Israeli healthcare system is based on the National Health Insurance Law of 1995, which mandates all citizens resident in the country to join one of four official health insurance organizations, known as Kupat Holim which are run as not-for-profit organizations and are prohibited by law from denying any Israeli resident membership. Israelis can increase their medical coverage and improve their options by purchasing private health insurance. In a survey of 48 countries in 2013, Israel's health system was ranked fourth in the world in terms of efficiency, and in 2014 it ranked seventh out of 51. In 2020, Israel's health system was ranked third most efficient in the world. In 2015, Israel was ranked sixth-healthiest country in the world by Bloomberg rankings and ranked eighth in terms of life expectancy.
Hungary has a tax-funded universal healthcare system, organized by the state-owned National Health Insurance Fund. While healthcare is considered universal, several reasons persist preventing Hungarian nationals to access healthcare services. For instance, a Hungarian citizen who lived abroad but is unable to show contributions to another country's healthcare system will not be able to access the Hungarian healthcare system free of charge. However, to the OECD, 100% of the total population is covered by universal health insurance, which is absolutely free for children, mothers or fathers with babies, students, pensioners, people with low income, handicapped people, priests and other church employees. In 2022 the cost of public health insurance is 8,400 HUF per month which is the equivalent of $23.69. The healthcare system underwent significant changes which also resulted in improving life expectancy and a very low infant mortality rate. According to the OECD Hungary spent 7.8% of its GDP on health care in 2012. Total health expenditure was $US1,688.7 per capita in 2011, US$1,098.3governmental-fund (65%) and US$590.4 private-fund (35%).
Beijing United Family Hospital and Clinics was the first international standard hospital established in China. It opened in 1997 as a joint venture between Chindex International, Inc. and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Beijing United Family was the first foreign-invested hospital to operate in China. In 2009, the hospital had 50 beds and sees over 2,500 patients every week with its 17 departments and services.
Healthcare in Belgium is composed of three parts. Firstly there is a primarily publicly funded healthcare and social security service run by the federal government, which organises and regulates healthcare; independent private/public practitioners, university/semi-private hospitals and care institutions. There are a few private hospitals. Secondly is the insurance coverage provided for patients. Finally, industry coverage; which covers the production and distribution of healthcare products for research and development. The primary aspect of this research is done in universities and hospitals.
Examples of health care systems of the world, sorted by continent, are as follows.
According to the Constitution of Albania, citizens are entitled to healthcare. The healthcare system in Albania is primarily public. The public system is made up of three tiers: primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care. Primary healthcare covers basic health needs. Secondary healthcare is needed when seeing a specialist after being referred to by a general doctor. Tertiary healthcare funds highly specialized medical care that is needed over a long duration of time. There are over 400 public clinics that offer both primary and secondary healthcare services, along with over 40 public hospitals that offer tertiary healthcare services.
Puhua International Hospitals (PIH) was the first international-standard hospital services established in Beijing. It was originally established in 1993 as a joint venture between Asia Pacific Medical Group (APM) and Beijing Tiantan Neurological Hospital, making it the first international joint venture hospital services to operate in China. From the original Tiantan location, the Puhua network has expanded to include Puhua International Hospital – Shuangjing and Puhua International Hospital – TEDA. All facilities cater to both international and Chinese patients.