Chongqing- More processes are involved in dealing with machines and mobile phones, from registering online to printing reports nowadays. Any operation may become a stumbling block for the elderly who cannot use smart devices proficiently.

Thus, diagnosis escorting services emerged, which engaged in all the processes for going to a doctor, such as taking and sending medical records, printing reports, accompanying to see a doctor, and delegating inter-city consultations.

As a business, diagnosis escort has begun to take shape in China's big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Some related services have also started to appear in several hospitals in Southwest China's Chongqing.

To help the elderly to reach a doctor

Before choosing to enter the diagnosis escorting industry, 23-year-old Youyou was a consultant in Chongqing's private ENT (ear, nose, and throat) hospital.

She studied clinical nursing in college and worked in the hospital to assist patients in consultation and treatment after graduation.

"After the intelligence of medical treatment, you will encounter all kinds of problems at the consultation desk," said Youyou.

"There are a lot of information asymmetries between the hospital and the family, such as where to go to the hospital to register, which clinic to see, how to line up, and where to do the examination, which is troublesome for the elderly to deal with," said Guo Hengliang, executive deputy secretary-general of Chongqing Pension Service Association. "Escorting services has greatly improved the convenience of the elderly to see the doctor."

Youyou revealed that there is no high threshold for entering the diagnostic escorting industry. In addition to the people who resigned from the hospital or those who had some nursing experience like her, there are also some unemployed young people or part-time college students. 

The escort service is not only for elderly patients. People who seek medical treatment in different places or are unfamiliar with the local area, a parent who brings the kid to see the doctor alone, young people who work hard outside independently, disabled people with inconvenience, and unaccompanied pregnant women are all potential demanders. 

Open, transparent, standardized supervision 

As an emerging industry, diagnosis escort receives mixed opinions in the current society. In particular, an effective supply and demand connection has not been well formed between the escort physicians and the patients; many people are skeptical about the authenticity before placing an order.

As an emerging industry, escort services need careful cultivation by society and relevant departments, according to Kang Zhuang, director of the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Finance.

For example, Kang suggested that market supervision and health management departments should carry out necessary administrative supervision and management following the law. 

Kang continued that establishing an open, transparent, standardized operating mechanism and social supervision system is significant for a new social service industry.

Especially, Chongqing has a relatively solid market foundation in developing services because of its large number of tertiary hospitals. The specialty and professional departments of relevant hospitals attract patients in the surrounding areas and even China's western region.

(Zhu Qinzhuo, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)