China hospitals require appointment for outpatient visits amid epidemic

Health authorities in east China's Jiangsu Province have ordered all major hospitals across the province to implement appointment registration for outpatient services excluding emergency and fever clinics starting Thursday.

The measure aims to reduce infection risks amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Hospitals should cancel on-site registration and check the health QR codes of patients and manage them in different categories, according to the Jiangsu Provincial Health Commission.

In addition, patients are required to stay at least one meter away from another and not allowed to enter the consulting rooms already occupied by another patient, it said.

To cope with increases in patients numbers, many hospitals in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, have already strengthened epidemic prevention and control measures, including canceling on-site registration services. Patients are required to make appointment registration for different time periods in advance.

Patients should make an appointment for outpatient visits through a mobile application, and they need to fill out a questionnaire on their whereabouts over the previous two weeks, according to the Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital.