A doctors works at the emergency department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University in Beijing, Dec 27, 2022. Photo:China News Service

Domestic private clinics are ramping up efforts to rollout their specially-designed testing service for COVID-recovered patients, with orders at some testing centers in Beijing quickly eclipsing all regular testing services, as China is quickly approaching peak infections after optimized epidemic control measures were implemented in mid-December.

Health 100, a domestic checkup provider, has recently begun offering a lung CT scan to check for any change in lung health for COVID-recovered patients, with order numbers skyrocketing since the service came online on December 27.

The company is offering two testing packages for COVID-recovered patients, with prices ranging from 529 yuan ($76.56) to 599 yuan, covering a lung CT scan, myocardial enzyme detection and a check of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, based on the categories of the testing services and the individual needs.

A total of 156,859 orders have been placed for the 599-yuan service as of press time, while the orders for the 529-yuan service stood at 10,649, equaling total revenue of 89.36 million yuan, just eight days after launch.

The new testing service packages are now the company's bestselling services by sales volume.

Other private health testing service providers have also seen similar soaring demand among COVID-recovered patients.

A customer service representative from Ciming Checkup told the Global Times on Tuesday that they are offering two types of testing service packages at the moment for COVID-recovered patients, with the discounted prices ranging from 529 yuan to 299 yuan per person, depending on the categories and individual needs.

They have launched these new services for a week, and numbers of both order inquiries and orders taken have been very high, the representative said, although she did not elaborate on exact figures.

"If you want to book a checkup, you need to do it at least 10-15 days in advance," she said, indicating the popularity of the new products.

Private testing centers have gained market foothold as hospitals are taking longer-than-expected time for CT scanning appointments, the Global Times learned.

CT scanning rooms have been full of patients in the recent weeks, with the people waiting for appointments maintaining at around 400-500 at a time, several fold more than usual, an employee from a local hospital in Chaoyang district, Beijing, told media on Monday.

A patient who has just recovered from COVID infection said that it has been very difficult to book a lung CT scan at hospitals recently amid surging demand.

"The reservations at some local hospitals in Beijing are now scheduled until February whilst it used to just take a day," he said.

Global Times