WeDoctor and Tencent News Launch Documentary Series 'In the Name of Healing' to Honor Chinese Doctors on National Doctors' Day
In early 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak swept across the globe, transforming countless “angels in white” into “warriors in white” and launching a massive, air-and-ground integrated medical rescue operation. As the third Chinese Doctors’ Day approached, WeDoctor Internet General Hospital, in partnership with Tencent News, launched the documentary series *Healers Speak* on the Tencent News app, using the camera lens to showcase the daily realities of Chinese doctors fighting the epidemic from the skies.
Zhao Lei, a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, currently serves as Chief Physician in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Wuhan Union Hospital. As an infectious disease specialist, Dr. Zhao remained on the front lines throughout the entire course of the pandemic, from its initial emergence to the point when new local cases in Wuhan dropped to zero. "A Healer's Narrative" documents a day in which Dr. Zhao, serving as a training expert, conducted bilingual remote instruction for healthcare professionals in North America via the WeDoctor Global Anti-Epidemic Platform, guiding them in implementing scientific prevention and control measures.
On March 16, Zhao Lei, who had just stepped back from the front lines and was supposed to take a half-month break, received an urgent request for assistance from Italian doctors via the WeDoctor Global Anti-Epidemic Platform. After preparing overnight, Zhao shared his frontline epidemic-fighting experiences with his Italian counterparts through the platform on the evening of March 18. “At that time, Italy and Iran were much like Wuhan in January, facing scarce medical resources and limited understanding of the epidemic,” Zhao said, empathizing with the anxiety felt by his foreign colleagues. “We advised them on protective measures, the progression of symptoms, and how to intervene early in treatment.”
(Zhao Lei extends a helping hand to overseas peers via the remote video system of WeDoctor’s Global Anti-Epidemic Platform)
On the WeDoctor Global Anti-Epidemic Platform, he conducted online sharing sessions with doctors from Italy, Poland, Brazil, Spain, and multiple states in the United States, explaining the contents of China’s Clinical Guidelines for COVID-19 Diagnosis and Treatment and answering questions via video link. Over the course of more than a month, he participated in nearly 30 video discussions, conveying China’s experience in combating the epidemic to overseas peers and the public.
Unlike Zhao Lei, who fights on the front lines to snatch patients’ lives from the “Grim Reaper,” Zeng Xianxiang, Director of the Department of Sleep Disorders and Neurology at the Second People’s Hospital of Hunan Province, specializes in “heart mending.”
Surveys indicate that 15% of individuals develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the aftermath of major disasters. Following the outbreak of the epidemic, Zeng Xianxiang, a seasoned psychotherapist, resolutely volunteered for the medical team aiding Hubei Province and was deployed to the Wuhan Fangcang Shelter Hospital. To assist more patients, he joined the real-time COVID-19 relief platform organized by WeDoctor Internet General Hospital, sacrificing his personal time to provide psychological support and comfort to those grappling with anxiety and helplessness. “To be honest, I also experienced fear and uncertainty when facing the unknown,” he said. “But I am still young and capable of contributing to the fight against the epidemic.”
(Zeng Xianxiang is organizing medical records)
Since the launch of WeDoctor Internet General Hospital’s “Real-Time Assistance Platform for COVID-19” on January 23, tens of thousands of doctors, such as Zhao Lei and Zeng Xianxiang, have been online. Some physicians conducted online consultations for up to 10 hours per session, responding to patient inquiries until the early morning hours; while others simultaneously prepared to support frontline efforts, addressing the concerns of patients both domestically and abroad through their screens.
As of August 18, the “Real-Time Assistance Platform for COVID-19” had mobilized 67,000 doctors across China, providing a cumulative total of 2.153 million free consultations, thereby opening up an “aerial battlefield” for medical rescue and demonstrating mission and responsibility in the nationwide fight against the epidemic.