在线开方 (zàixiàn kāifāng): Issuing prescriptions online

The National Health Commission recently released a notice saying informatization of medical institutions should be further advanced so that doctors can issue prescriptions online to treat some common diseases and chronic diseases as long as they know the patient's entire medical history and physical traits. The policy is also aimed at enabling pharmacists to check prescriptions online and deliver the required medicines.

The move may bring convenience and save time for many patients with chronic diseases, while making medical services more efficient. With the change of lifestyle and the rising aging population, chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure have rapidly increased. Statistics show China has almost 300 million people suffering from chronic diseases.

Unlike acute diseases, the medical treatment of chronic diseases is relatively fixed after diagnosis. In some cases, a person with a chronic disease has to follow the doctors' advice to take medicines regularly and change his or her unhealthy lifestyle－unless new complications arise－which is a long-term but comparatively simple medical treatment process.

In such cases if the doctors could prescribe medicines and give other advice to the patients online, it can save medical resources as well as the patients' time. Also, doctors could easily communicate with the patients through online apps or instant messengers, which are conducive to customizing medical treatment plans for the patients.