Telemedicine in China: Opportunities and challenges

China is a large country, with a huge population and poor telecommunications infrastructure. The level of social and economic development differs greatly between the coastal areas of the country and the rural areas in the west. The China Medical Foundation Telemedicine Network was also a large-scale telemedicine programme. It was supported by a non-profit-making organization, the International Medical Network Association. A Chinese Traditional Medicine Telemedicine Network was established by the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1997. Shanghai Medical University (SMU) provided medical services, teaching and research, and had about 5000 students. It had an excellent technical reputation in China. Many departments in SMU-affiliated hospitals were well equipped, and some departments were ranked the best in the country. Lack of legislation and regulation is also a major barrier to telehealth development and deployment. Video and audio quality varies, depending upon how the rural sites are connected with the telemedicine centre.