Beijing Friendship Hospital (Second Clinical Medical College), Capital Medical University

A domestic demonstration platform for full-cycle digestive rehabilitation of chronic digestive diseases, postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction, and inflammatory bowel disease. Benchmarking against the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO), it is a comprehensive treatment center for difficult cases of gastrointestinal motility disorders, postoperative functional impairment of digestive diseases, and nutritional and functional rehabilitation of chronic digestive diseases.

Historical Origins and Spiritual Inheritance:

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Beijing Friendship Hospital was established in 1952, the same year as the hospital itself, making it one of the earliest established rehabilitation medicine centers in China. The hospital boasts a strong academic heritage in the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine: Professor Wang Baoen broke the international perception that "cirrhosis is irreversible," developing the "861 Compound," which provides an effective traditional Chinese medicine treatment for liver fibrosis; Professors Zhang Shuwen and Wang Baoen jointly created a system for treating multiple organ failure using both traditional Chinese and Western medicine, and established diagnostic criteria for sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome using integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine. These achievements have laid the academic foundation for the digestive rehabilitation field, establishing a model of "equal emphasis on traditional Chinese and Western medicine, and the integration of acupuncture and medication in modern rehabilitation."

Core business operational efficiency:

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine currently has a team of 64 members, including 14 physicians, 42 therapists, and 8 nurses. Ten members hold doctoral degrees, 32 hold master's degrees, and there is one doctoral supervisor and one master's supervisor. The department has a rehabilitation medicine ward located in the Shunyi campus, focusing on early-stage, acute-phase, and complex/critical care rehabilitation. It collaborates closely with multiple disciplines, including orthopedics, cardiovascular medicine, neurosurgery, and critical care medicine, to create an integrated clinical rehabilitation platform. The hospital's rehabilitation center uses a combination of acupuncture and medication with modern rehabilitation physiotherapy techniques to treat digestive diseases, severe infections, and post-illness rehabilitation in the elderly.

Discipline Positioning and Benchmarking:

It is a national pilot unit for integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine (one of the 12 selected nationwide in 2023), the host institution of the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, a national standardized cardiac rehabilitation center, and a national standardized training base for cardiopulmonary rehabilitation specialist nurses/rehabilitation therapists. Professor Xie Ying serves as the director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, a standing director of the Beijing Rehabilitation Medicine Association, the vice chairman of the Neurological Rehabilitation Branch of the Beijing Neurological Society, and a standing member of the Rehabilitation Professional Committee of the Beijing Association of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine. She has national academic influence in the fields of neurological rehabilitation, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, obesity and metabolic disease rehabilitation, chronic disease rehabilitation, and psychological rehabilitation.

The Department of Gastroenterology at Beijing Friendship Hospital, affiliated with Capital Medical University, is a leading domestic and internationally renowned center for the diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases. It is a national key (cultivation) discipline and a national key clinical specialty. Relying on two national-level platforms, the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases (approved in 2014) and the National Key Laboratory of Digestive Health (approved in 2023), it was rated as one of the world's best endoscopy centers (Top 20) by the World Endoscopy Organization in 2020. The department's core strengths lie in the endoscopic interventional (minimally invasive) diagnosis and treatment of esophageal, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic diseases. Its hallmark advantage is the comprehensive diagnostic and treatment system for early gastrointestinal cancer. The "Friendship" Digestive Express program serves as its technology promotion brand, positioning itself as a national leader in digestive disease diagnosis and treatment and a "Whampoa Military Academy" for standardized training in digestive endoscopy techniques. In 2024, the Digestive Center was awarded the honorary title of "National Workers' Pioneer."

Historical Origins and Spiritual Inheritance:

Beijing Friendship Hospital, founded in 1952, was the first large-scale comprehensive hospital established by the Party and the government after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Department of Gastroenterology was established in 1979 by renowned gastroenterologists Professor Wang Baoen and Professor Yu Zhonglin. Professor Yu Zhonglin was one of the pioneers and founders of gastrointestinal endoscopy in my country. He introduced gastrointestinal endoscopy technology in 1973, and was among the first in China to perform percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and drainage. He designed a domestically produced esophageal variceal ligation device, which obtained a national patent. He served as the second and third chairman of the Gastroenterology Endoscopy Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and received the "National Outstanding Physician Special Tribute Award" and the title of "Top Ten Medical Giants" in 2024. Professor Zhang Shutian, as the current leader of the discipline, adheres to the belief that "discovering one case of early cancer saves one life and brings happiness to one family." He leads his team to strive for excellence in the diagnosis and treatment of early gastrointestinal cancer. He was the first in the world to propose the concept of "endoscopology," promoting the evolution of gastrointestinal endoscopy from a technology to a discipline.

Core business operational efficiency:

The Digestive Center sees over 200,000 outpatients annually and performs over 90,000 gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures annually, ranking among the top in the country. Leveraging the hospital's comprehensive advantages, the center, in conjunction with the Emergency Department, has established a 24/7 emergency green channel for critically ill patients with conditions such as massive gastrointestinal bleeding, acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis, and foreign bodies in the digestive tract. In 2023, a total of 2,722 emergency endoscopy procedures were performed, with a success rate exceeding 97%. The Digestive Center consists of six parts: Departments I, II, III, and IV of Gastroenterology, the Gastroenterology Endoscopy Center, and the Gastroenterology Laboratory. It covers three campuses in Xicheng, Tongzhou, and Shunyi, and has established thirteen subgroups, including Early Gastrointestinal Cancer, Gallbladder and Pancreatic Diseases, Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Hp and Acid-Related Diseases, Gastrointestinal Critical Care, Endoscopic Weight Loss, Gastrointestinal Fistulas, Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition, and Pediatric Gastroenterology.

Discipline Positioning and Benchmarking:

It is a national key (cultivation) discipline and a national key clinical specialty, the affiliated unit of the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases (one of the three major national clinical research centers for digestive diseases in China) and the National Key Laboratory of Digestive Health, the affiliated unit of the Department of Gastroenterology of Capital Medical University, and the location of the Beijing Center for Digestive Diseases. Center members hold important academic positions such as Standing Director of the Chinese Medical Association, Standing Director of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Chairman of the Gastroenterology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, Chairman of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, Chairman of the Hepatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and President of the Gastroenterology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, holding a leading position in the field of gastroenterology nationwide. In terms of international benchmarking, it was rated as one of the world's best endoscopy centers (Top 20) by the World Endoscopy Organization in 2020. It is the Beijing Digestive Endoscopy Quality Control and Improvement Center and the "Talent Training Center".

A national key clinical specialty, the head unit of the Department of General Surgery at Capital Medical University, aligned with the World Surgical Society (WJS), and a national comprehensive treatment center for minimally invasive gastrointestinal tumor surgery, bariatric and metabolic surgery, liver transplantation, and complex and severe hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases.

Historical Origins and Spiritual Inheritance:

The Department of General Surgery at Beijing Friendship Hospital was established in 1952 at the hospital's founding, initially as a "general surgery" department. Under the leadership of professors such as Wang Yu and Zhang Zhongtao, it has transitioned from the era of traditional open surgery to the era of comprehensive minimally invasive surgery. Professor Wang Yu pioneered and applied the "restrictive portosystemic shunt" technique in the surgical treatment of portal hypertension, winning the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award and the Beijing Science and Technology Progress Award. Professor Zhang Zhongtao, as the current chief expert of the discipline, has been deeply involved in general surgery clinical practice and scientific research for decades, leading the center from "following" to "leading". He serves as the chairman of the Surgical Branch of the Chinese Medical Association (and the head of the Colorectal Surgery Group), the vice chairman of the Surgical Expert Committee on Capacity Building and Continuing Education of the National Health Commission, and the chairman of the Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Professional Committee.

Core business operational efficiency:

The center currently has 464 beds, over 300 medical and research staff, and handles over 300,000 outpatient and emergency visits annually, performing over 10,000 surgeries per year, with an average length of stay of 5.9 days. Minimally invasive surgeries account for 65% of all surgeries, with laparoscopic minimally invasive surgeries for liver resection, radical resection of gastric and colorectal cancer, and bariatric and metabolic surgeries each accounting for over 90%. The center currently has seven subspecialties: thyroid and breast surgery, hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, bariatric and metabolic surgery, liver transplant surgery, acute abdomen surgery, and geriatric surgery, covering all diseases treated in general surgery.

Discipline Positioning and Benchmarking:

The center is a national key clinical specialty, the general surgery branch of the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, and the affiliated unit of the National Key Laboratory of Digestive Health. It is also the affiliated unit of the Clinical Diagnosis and Research Center for Colorectal Tumors and the Clinical Diagnosis and Research Center for Pediatric Liver Transplantation of Capital Medical University. Professor Zhang Zhongtao, as the chairman of the Surgical Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, has led the development of 12 clinical guidelines and expert consensus, established 4 national clinical research data platforms (with a cumulative registered case count of over 50,000), and presided over national-level projects such as the "13th Five-Year Plan" National Science and Technology Major Project. Many of his research results have been published in top international journals such as *Nature Medicine* and *The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology*. It ranks among the top 30 general surgery departments in top hospitals nationwide in 2022.