The internal medicine department of Renji Hospital, a city-level public hospital, will cease operation from April 1, when outpatients should visit specific departments for disease diagnosis and treatment, the hospital said today.

The hospital said the decision was made in line with the current health reform, which encourages patients to visit grassroots hospitals for common and chronic diseases and leading hospitals for more complicated diseases.

“Most patients visiting our department of internal medicine are those with common and chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes, and about 10 percent visit frequently just for prescriptions,” said Dr Wang Yu, vice president of Renji Hospital.

“Patients can receive better health services at specific departments in terms of their problems instead of going to the department of general internal medicine."

The hospital said its department of internal medicine received 100,000 visits at its two branches last year, all of whom can go to the hospital’s other departments or visit nearby grassroots hospitals, which are under close cooperation with Renji.

To encourage patients to visit grassroots hospitals, the district health authority has expanded the drug list of its neighborhood health centers, and patients needn’t go all the way to leading hospitals just for prescriptions.

But Renji is still an option, if some patients prefer. “Our hospital also has a special clinic just for prescriptions, for patients with common and chronic diseases, if they still prefer getting medicine atRenji,” Wang said.