Downtown Docs: United Family CBD Clinic

“Illness is a foreign land where you always go alone,” said the writer Peter Hobbs. How very true – when faced with a strange bug or new diagnosis, even seasoned China hands may feel miles away from all they know.

What sets United Family’s CBD location apart from many other expat clinics is the range of services offered on-site. Aside from the pediatric and internal medicine specialists you might expect, the clinic has its own lab, ultrasound, TCM practitioner, psychological services, and is licensed to jab you with a full range of vaccines. Thanks to the in-house pharmacy, you don’t have to leave the premises for your prescriptions, and patients are welcome to pop in for over-the-counter essentials like cold remedies.

Those of us who break out in a sweat at the thought of a routine physical will be calmed by the clinic’s airy, orchid-filled waiting rooms. For added convenience, the clinic has direct-billing arrangements with a couple dozen insurance companies, and provides regular shuttle service to BJU for procedures and pills not available at the clinic.

Many of us have gotten into the habit of taking care of routine medical care on our visits home, but when Beijing offers the type of family clinic care you’re used to, it really doesn’t make sense to keep putting off that Pap smear or yearly check-up. Stopping in for routine and preventive care can keep you from an extended stay in the land of illness – or at least crowded, germy hospital waiting rooms.

Also try: Beijing United Family Hospital

United Family CBD Clinic. Mon-Sat 9.30am-6.30pm. Suite 3017, Bldg AB, Vantone Center, 6 Chaoyangmenwai Dajie,
Chaoyang District (5907 1266) http://beijing.ufh.com.cn/en
朝阳区朝阳门外大街6号万通中心AB座2层3017

By subway: 500m southeast of Dongdaqiao station (Line 6)

Photo courtesy of Beijing United Family Hospital

This article originally appeared on p43 in the March issue of the Beijinger.