BEIJING - Beijing health authority is improving its information network about people with serious mental disabilities, a senior health official said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Deng Xiaohong, deputy director of the Beijing municipal bureau of health, said the move is aimed at ensuring there is closer cooperation between psychiatric hospitals and communities, so services can be improved for people with mental health issues.

"We should ensure that all medical records related to cases of people with serious mental disabilities are accessible to the relevant medical personnel, so medical staff working near the patients' homes can pay regular visits and accordingly adjust their drug dosage," Deng said.

The city's health bureau issued a regulation related to the reporting system for people with serious mental health issues on Feb 9 replacing the old version that was published in 2007. The revision relaxes the compulsory reporting requirement for less serious cases but standardizes the reporting procedure for people with serious mental disabilities.

The new regulation, which comes into effect on March 1, stipulates that all psychiatric institutions in the city must submit information about patients suffering from serious mental disabilities within five working days of them being diagnosed with any of 13 mental health problems, including dementia, schizophrenia and paranoid psychosis.

Currently, it is believed that only around 10 percent of people suffering from mental disabilities seek appropriate medical treatment. Of those, most decline additional consultations after their initial treatment ends.

"Most patients will not admit that they have a mental disease because of discrimination from society," said Wang Shaoli, vice-president of the Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, a psychiatric institution under the Beijing health bureau.

However, Wang said most patients suffering from serious mental diseases need lifelong medication and care.

"If community clinics could visit the patients' homes regularly, they would probably help ensure the patients continue with their medical treatment," he said.

Clinics at the community level hold medical records on 57,000 people with serious mental health issues. Mental healthcare centers at the city and district level, psychiatric hospitals and some psychiatrists from community clinics will now be granted access to that information system.

To safeguard the privacy of patients, all people logging on to the database will need a special digital certificate granted by the health bureau. Deng said the number of users with such clearance will increase.

"Most places in China are carrying out screening and filing work of this kind, as a measure to put basic public health services in place," he said.

According to earlier reports, Kaiyuan in Yunnan province, Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and Dongguan in Guangdong province are also revising their information systems for people with serious mental disabilities.

Meanwhile, the Beijing health authority is also considering providing free medication later this year to all patients with serious mental health problems.

On average, psychotropic drugs used in the treatment of such patients cost 300 to 400 yuan ($46-$61) a month. The medication is covered by the medical insurance system but people who have not enlisted in the social security system have to pay those medical fees themselves.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/25/2011 page4)