International Medical Department

I. Overview

Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, was the first traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) medical institution established by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It is known as the “cradle of Shanghai’s renowned TCM physicians” and is a national key hospital for integrated TCM and Western medicine. Guided by the hospital motto “Precision, diligence, benevolence, and trust,” the International Medical Department draws on the hospital’s integrated-care expertise and long-standing TCM tradition. It says it is equipped with advanced medical devices, a scientific management system, and experienced specialists across disciplines. It aims to provide high-quality, personalized care throughout the care journey—including health examinations, prevention, health maintenance, medical care, rehabilitation, and nursing—for international visitors, commercially insured patients, self-paying patients, and people seeking health management.

II. Facilities and environment

The International Medical Department has outpatient and inpatient services. Its outpatient area is described as classically elegant and includes assessment rooms; general-practice and specialist consultation rooms; TCM treatment rooms for constitution assessment, facial acupuncture, sound therapy, aromatherapy, meditation, and other services; a TCM integrated-treatment room; a room for nonsurgical intervertebral-disc decompression; examination rooms; and a pharmacy for originator medicines. The department says it arranges patient guides to accompany outpatients and support a one-stop sequence of appointment, examination, treatment, and follow-up.

The inpatient area is described as warm and comfortable. Single- and double-bed rooms and VIP suites are available according to need, alongside a TCM integrated-treatment room and a TCM cultural corner. The page says these facilities allow inpatients and people undergoing health examinations to receive a range of services in a home-like setting.

III. Service features

The hospital says its integrated TCM and Western medicine expertise is recognized in China and abroad. It describes itself as the country’s only national TCM clinical research base with a focus on non-pharmacological therapies, and says it has three national TCM regional medical (specialty) centers in acupuncture, tuina, and dermatology. In addition to six first-established, leading domestic integrated clinical centers in cardiology, oncology, orthopedics and trauma, rehabilitation, gynecology, and specialties related to sensory organs, the hospital says it has established 18 integrated TCM–Western medicine collaborative clinical centers, including neurology and gastroenterology. It also describes itself as one of the few hospitals in China to hold national certifications in all five “heart” areas: chest pain, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke, and cardiac rehabilitation.

As a high-quality service platform within the hospital, the International Medical Department says it brings together resources across the hospital and covers internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, acupuncture, tuina, rehabilitation, and subspecialties. A dedicated medical team handles appointments, assessments, follow-up, and questions, and manages care throughout the patient journey. Departmental experts and experienced clinicians from across the hospital also see patients. For difficult or complex cases, the department describes multidisciplinary care such as “general practice plus specialty” and “internal medicine plus surgery” to support precise diagnosis and treatment. Specialty inpatients are managed jointly to help optimize each patient’s treatment plan, and the page says they can use streamlined channels for examinations.

The department says it pursues more attentive, personalized service while emphasizing care quality and promoting “quality healthy living” and the TCM concept of “treating before illness.” For example, with the Earmersion team, it developed an immersive music-therapy program based on TCM pattern and constitution assessment, combining Chinese herbal medicine, music, aromatherapy, lighting, and setting with breathing exercises and mindfulness meditation. The hospital describes it as suitable for people affected by anxiety, depression, insomnia, pain, hypertension, and other physical or mental health conditions, as well as groups such as people with chronic fatigue or sub-health concerns, pregnant people, and older adults. The page describes the approach as addressing mind and body together.

The department also worked with the hospital’s acupuncture and dermatology teams on a facial-acupuncture plan for women. The page says it uses whole-person and local pattern differentiation to activate skin regeneration and self-repair, lift facial muscles, define facial contours, brighten the complexion, and promote a naturally youthful appearance; it presents this as an example of TCM’s approach to treating the inside and outside together and caring for both form and spirit. With the tuina team, the department uses an IDD device and manual techniques for nonsurgical intervertebral-disc decompression for office workers with neck or lower-back pain. It also offers individualized health-maintenance plans involving diet, daily routines, and exercise methods for people with sub-health concerns and similar needs.

IV. Commercial insurance and international care

To serve commercially insured people and patients from overseas, the department says it offers multilingual services and accepts appointment requests by phone, email, or in person. It reports having cashless direct-settlement agreements with 16 insurance companies and third-party organizations, intended to simplify care procedures and make hospital and medical-insurance services complementary.

The hospital says it has established friendly relationships with international medical institutions in Israel, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Australia, France, and other countries. It has led the establishment of the INOVA TCM Center in the United States and TCM centers in Mauritius and Morocco. The hospital describes the China–Mauritius TCM Center project as pioneering a model combining acupuncture and herbal medicine and as a prominent Shanghai contribution to global TCM services. The International Medical Department also says it helps preserve and promote TCM culture. In addition to clinical care with TCM features, it develops and promotes TCM cultural products such as herbal pastes, herbal teas, medicinal-diet ingredient packs, and herbal pillows; promotes and teaches health practices such as Baduanjin, tai chi, and the Five-Animal Exercises; and extends TCM education for international students in Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and tuina. The page says these efforts aim to raise international recognition of TCM and the hospital and support the high-quality integration of TCM into the development plan for jointly building the Belt and Road.