Taizhou wins approval for national chronic disease prevention project

A major national initiative for the prevention and treatment of cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic diseases has announced the results of its third round of project approvals for 2024. Among the selected proposals is the Collaborative Innovation Pilot Zone (Taizhou Model), the only city-level project in the Yangtze River Delta approved last year in the policy and management category.

With total funding of 150 million yuan ($20.94 million), the project aims to pioneer an integrated model for chronic disease prevention and management. It will focus on the development of an innovative healthcare system that combines medical treatment and prevention, a smart chronic disease management platform, and digital therapeutics.

Project leader Chen Minglong, president of Taizhou People's Hospital affiliated with Nanjing Medical University, said that the approval marks the beginning of a new era in remote chronic disease management.

The project will leverage telemedicine to deliver comprehensive chronic disease care, overcome geographical barriers, and enhance healthcare accessibility. It also seeks to establish a coordinated management mechanism across county-level medical alliances using digital and intelligent solutions, offering a scalable model for future chronic disease prevention and treatment across China, according to Chen.