Their services are targeted to upper-middle class and business travelers and they are service oriented, operating 24 hours a day much like urgent care centers in the United States. The clinic staff expects that those who can afford it will skip the hospital and come directly to the clinic. Medical services in Beijing have become capital intensive. For instance, there are now more CT scanners in Beijing than in Great Britain. Counseling services are starting to grow as people try to cope with a changing society.
Pollution is a major problem, but is accepted as the price for rapid growth.
Health effects will be large in the decades ahead, however. Chris Guo, the Chief Pharmacist, has applied to Bastyr s naturopathic medicine degree program for the fall. Coming to Bastyr would be the fulfillment of a dream he has had for many years. That afternoon, we visited the Cui Yue-Li Traditional Medicine Research Center. This center is directed by Zhang Xiao Tong, the son of the late Cui Yue-Li, who was the Minister of Health for China and was instrumental in the resurgence of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the country.