KingMed Diagnostics Joins Hands with Cleveland Clinic to Enhance Pathology Education and Clinical Services in China

CHENGDU, China, Aug. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Western China International Forum on Pathology, jointly organized by the Cleveland Clinic of USA, Sichuan University West China Hospital, KingMed Diagnostics and Sichuan Medical Association, held in Chengdu from June 28-29. A number of l pathology experts from China and America exchanged viewpoints on several aspects of pathology and tendencies in terms of developments across the discipline.

Well-known experts who attended the Forum included Dr. Fadi Abdul-Karim, MD, Vice President of Cleveland Clinic's Education Institute; Dr. Bin Yang PhD, MD, Associate Professor and Director of Molecular Cytology in the Department of Pathology at Cleveland Clinic; Prof. Bian Xiuwu, President of the Pathology Committee of the Chinese Medical Association; Prof. Bu Hong, President-elect of the Pathology Committee of the Chinese Medical Association and Vice President of Sichuan University; Zhu Xiongzeng, Professor at the Cancer Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai; Tan Dongfeng, Professor of MD Anderson Cancer Center and honored Medical Director at KingMed Diagnostics; and Zhou Qiao, Professor and Chairman of Department of Pathology at West China Hospital, Sichuan University. They discussed gynecologic pathology, gastrointestinal pathology, cytology, lymphoma and other organs. The Forum was unprecedented in terms of the number of attendees and the scale.

According to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China, the pathology market in China is huge, which was estimated at RMB 167.8 billion (approx. $US 27.1 billion) in 2013 and is expected to reach RMB 250 billion (approx. $US 40 billion) in 2015. With China's medical reform which strikes for guaranteeing basic medical services, improving medical services at the grass-roots level and prioritizing the development of medical services in rural areas and the central and western parts of China, an enormous opportunity is seen in terms of the medical market potential in western China. Favorable policies have prompted the third party independent medical laboratories to aggressively march into western China and to be at the forefront of the area's development. Given this scenario, the forum has drawn much attention.

Cleveland Clinic, one of the organizers of the forum, was spotlighted: established in 1921, Cleveland Clinic is one of the top four hospitals in the United States and is one of most well-known hospitals in the world. It works closely with major medical institutions across the U.S. Cleveland Clinic was also recently praised by President Obama as "a model of American health care reform".

KingMed Diagnostics, the largest independent medical diagnostic laboratory in China, reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Cleveland Clinic in 2011. This strategic cooperation represents the first ever collaborative effort between an independent medical diagnostic laboratory in China and a leading international medical institution. After the three-year cooperation and the success of the Cleveland Clinic-KingMed Pathology Forum, the two parties joined hands to hold the international pathology forum in Western China, a grand event in response to the new medical reform.

A spokesperson for Cleveland Clinic said: "To exchange information with Chinese pathologic experts is a rare experience. In the U.S., pathologists are reputed as 'doctors in doctors,' as 70% of all medical diagnoses depend on a diagnosis of the pathology. The prospects for the development of pathology in China are bright. KingMed Diagnostics, with 22 provincial-level clinical laboratories serving more than 90% of the population in China, has been cooperating with over 14,000 medical institutions and has already gained rich experience in collaborations with international organizations.  We expect to broaden our cooperation with KingMed Diagnostics to accelerate the development of the third party medical diagnosis business in China."

Liang Yaoming, Chairman of KingMed Diagnostics and Dean of KingMed College of Laboratory Medicine of Guangzhou Medical University, did not hide his enthusiasm as he spoke about the forum: "Through the cooperation with leading international institutions such as Cleveland Clinic, we are introducing advanced technology and management concepts into China in a variety of pathology frontiers such as continued medical education for laboratory professionals, digital pathologic consultation, introduction of new laboratory test menu, pathology data-mining and research, among others. KingMed Diagnostics is fulfilling its social responsibility by enabling more and more people in China to enjoy the benefits brought to the fore by developments across the medical sector."

SOURCE KingMed Diagnostics