TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital (TICH) is a public Tertiary Class A (the highest tier in China’s hospital classification system) specialized cardiovascular hospital and research institute invested and established by the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA).

Designated as a National Regional Cardiovascular Center under the joint initiative of the National Health Commission (formerly Ministry of Health) and Tianjin Municipality, TICH holds the following distinctions:

● Affiliate of the National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases;

● National reference training center for:

　☆ interventional treatment of coronary artery diseases and arrhythmias；

　☆ cardiovascular nursing and specialized techniques;

● National Center for Health Education;

● Tianjin Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases;

● Tianjin University’s Directly Affiliated Hospital and Cardiovascular Research Institute;

● Clinical Teaching Site for the Cardiovascular Program of Tianjin Medical University;

● Home to postdoctoral and academician workstations.

The Cardiac and Vascular Surgery, Cardiology, and Nursing departments of TICH have been recognized as National Key Clinical Specialties. Additionally, its Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Regulation and Translational Medicine in Cardiovascular Diseases has been certified by the Tianjin Science and Technology Bureau.

Innovative Practice of Administration
Since its launch in 2003, TICH has implemented a groundbreaking management and operational model – self-developed and fully aligns with China’s 2009 healthcare reform plan issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council (China’s highest authorities). Recognized by Qiushi (CPC’s flagship theoretical journal) as “a trailblazer in public hospital reform,” TICH’s transformative measures include:

● Staffing and salary reform:

　　● Instead of the traditional tenured positions with administrative rankings (common in public service institutions), TICH adopted contract-based employment, eliminating bureaucratic hierarchies.

　　● TICH implemented Party Committee-led presidential accountability, with all staff subject to performance-based contract renewal.

　　● Performance-based salaries entirely decoupled from hospital revenue (eg. drug/ device sales) has been in place.

● Billing innovation: TICH has been the first in China to

　　● abolish drug/device markup revenues (a major reform target), and

　　● adopted diagnosis-related group (DRG) payments with insurers to incentivize efficiency.

● Clinical excellence:

　　● TICH has integrated clinical pathways into the hospital information systems (HIS).

　　● Vertical oversight and tiered position system are in place for specialized career progression.

● Streamlined operations: All the support services (eg. housekeeping, logistics) have been outsourced from inception to optimize resource allocation.

Clinical and Charity Services
With 500 inpatient beds, TICH offers a full spectrum cardiovascular procedures, spanning common surgical and interventional procedures to heart transplantation.

Guided by its motto “Benevolence and Healthcare for All”, TICH has provided cardiac surgeries and interventional procedures to more than 300,000 patients across all regions of China (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) and multiple countries worldwide (such as the USA, Germany, Canada, Russia and Japan). The 19 successful heart transplantations TICH has completed include one long-term survivor with combined heart-kidney transplantation, one highly complex redo heart transplantation and Tianjin’s first pediatric heart transplant.

TICH developed China’s first model of the third-generation artificial heart with complete domestic intellectual property – the HeartCon (commonly known as “Rocket Heart”), an implantable ventricular assist device utilizing magnetic levitation system received national approval for clinical application in 2022.

TICH has conducted a comprehensive cardiac development survey covering 1.6 million children in Tianjin, making the city the only province-level region in China to achieve full-coverage (with “zero gaps”) screening for newborns. Additionally, TICH has performed life-saving congenital heart disease (CHD) surgeries for 16,000 orphaned and disadvantaged children from 28 provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities), representing 34 ethnic groups.

Since 2011, through partnerships with the China Mobile Charity Foundation, Shanghai Hefu Charity Foundation, and the Chinese Health Law Association, TICH’s mobile screening unit has provided early congenital heart disease (CHD) detection and medical treatment to children in need in 19 provinces and regions, including Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Tibet, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Henan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu.

Service Accessibility
TICH pioneered China's first cross-province medical insurance settlement without requiring referrals, becoming a designated direct-billing hospital for Hebei Province, Hulunbuir, Harbin, Liaobe Oilfield regions.

In January 2017, TICH processed China's very first real-time interprovincial medical settlement, marking a major breakthrough in healthcare accessibility nationwide.

Awards & Recognitions
TICH was recognized as a “Satisfactory Hospital among Tianjin Residents” in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2018.

TICH was awarded “National Advanced Healthcare Collective” by the Ministry of Human Resources, National Health Commission, and Traditional Chinese Medicine Administration in 2012.

TICH was honored as “National Advanced Collective in Poverty Alleviation” by the CPC Central Committee and State Council (China’s highest authorities) in 2021.

Since 2015, TICH has been consecutively named a “National Model Hospital for Healthcare Service Improvement” under the triennial “Further Improving Medical Services Action Plan” initiated by the National Health Commission.

TICH’s innovative practices have been featured by leading domestic (Xinhua News Agency,China Central Television,China National Radio, People’s Daily,China Daily,Guangming Daily, and Health News) and international media (Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao and The Wall Street Journal).