The city’s family physicians are on standby 24/7 during the epidemic.

Family physicians are guardians for each community in the control and prevention of the COVID-19. With their help, early discovery, reporting, quarantine and treatment of suspected and confirmed cases can be realized as early as possible.

(Gu Hao from the Xinzhuang Community Health Service Center in Minhang District)

Each and every family physician is on standby for any call from their own residential committee, said Gu Hao from the Xinzhuang Community Health Service Center in Minhang District. Together with the committee workers and the police, they are serving 53 residential committees across Xinzhuang Town. As of March 4, the family physicians, via door-to-door visits, have identified 4,756 people who needed home quarantine.

Via phone calls and WeChat, they also provide healthcare guidance and psychological counseling for the quarantined residents.

For individuals with mobility problems, the doctors also send medicine to their doorstep.

From 2011, Shanghai began to encourage people to sign up with family doctors of their choice. People can find a family physician via an official app named Jiankangyun or Health Cloud. Since January 2020, more than 6,000 citizens have signed up with their doctors on the app.