(Xinhua Photo)

Ahead of the opening of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, cardiologist Zhang Junjie shared two memorable moments from his 27-year medical career with reporters.

The NPC deputy, also vice-president of Nanjing First Hospital in Nanjing, recalled that in June 2015, his team spent five hours performing two minimally invasive interventional surgeries on an 82-year-old patient suffering from severe myocardial infarction. Six years later, when the patient was readmitted with severe heart failure, Zhang was able to successfully treat him with a domestically produced mitral valve clip, instead of relying on an imported device for valve replacement.

Zhang said that he remains committed to his original aspiration to treat every patient with compassion and to his role as a deputy to the national legislature. He used to see patients carrying large bags of X-ray films with them around hospitals. "They looked worried and worn out. For them lugging this material around was obviously arduous, and it often gave doctors limited information."

To resolve the problem, Zhang submitted a suggestion during last year's annual session of the NPC that called for the accelerated adoption of electronic medical examination records. In May of that year, Jiangsu took the lead in establishing a provincial online platform for medical images, enabling all public medical institutions to have full access to the system and view all of a patient's imaging reports. The platform is estimated to save patients approximately 2 billion yuan ($275 million) annually in costs associated with redundant tests.

In November the National Health Commission called for more sharing and recognition of examinations among various medical institutions. Zhang stated, “As an NPC deputy. I have a responsibility to provide targeted, inclusive suggestions to protect the health of the people."

Contact us at english@jschina.com.cn