From August 21 to 23, the Ninth Asian–Oceania Congress on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AOCPRM 2025) was held in Penang, Malaysia. The congress theme was “Rehabilitation for the Future: Building Strong Foundations, Paving the Way to New Horizons.” The event featured specialized lectures by international experts, showcased innovative applications in robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and other fields, and focused on key topics such as cutting-edge technological applications, precision rehabilitation practices, and care for older adults. A diverse program of workshops, keynote speeches, and thematic symposia was carefully curated. Nearly one thousand rehabilitation medicine experts and scholars from both China and abroad attended.

Ge Jiangping, President of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, personally led a delegation comprising key leaders and core professionals from clinical medicine, rehabilitation technology, and hospital operations to attend the conference. The delegation actively participated in the event’s diverse academic sessions, engaged in extensive exchanges with international peers, and proactively expanded channels for international collaboration, thereby jointly advancing innovation and development in the field of rehabilitation medicine.

Follow: The China Forum on High-Quality Development of the Non-Public Rehabilitation Industry Was a Spectacular Success

Notably, this conference has, for the first time, established the “China Forum on High-Quality Development of the Non-Public Rehabilitation Industry,” which also marks the first Chinese-language rehabilitation forum to be held overseas.

This forum brings together leading scholars in rehabilitation, heads of rehabilitation institutions, and key professionals in the field, focusing on pressing issues such as the development of China’s rehabilitation industry, breakthroughs in critical-care rehabilitation technologies, and innovations in rehabilitation equipment. Participants will share the latest research findings and practical experiences in Chinese rehabilitation medicine.

At the opening of the forum, Li Jian’an, President of the Asian and Oceania Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Bi Sheng, Chairperson of the Rehabilitation Medicine Professional Committee of the China Association of Non‑Public Medical Institutions, delivered welcoming remarks.

This forum focuses on the high-quality development of China’s private rehabilitation sector, with topics spanning operational and management innovation, clinical application of technologies, and the advancement of specialized rehabilitation services.

Operations Management Innovation Segment

This paper focuses on rehabilitation hospital operational strategies under the healthcare payment reform, pathways for capital market empowerment, and hospital brand-building, reflecting the industry’s in-depth reflection on sustainable development models.

Technical Clinical Application Segment

Showcasing cutting-edge digital and intelligent rehabilitation practices, including robot-assisted therapy, brain–computer interface technologies, and artificial intelligence applications, thereby highlighting the deep integration of technology and rehabilitation medicine.

Specialized Rehabilitation Development Division

Covering specialized fields such as critical care rehabilitation, osteoporosis rehabilitation, pediatric rehabilitation, and rehabilitation for disorders of consciousness, it shares Chinese‑style solutions including integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine rehabilitation and life‑cycle‑wide rehabilitation.

Ge Jiangping, President of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, delivered a keynote address titled “Breaking the Impasse: The Efficiency Revolution and Value Re‑creation of Rehabilitation Institutions in the Context of Payment Reform.” In his presentation, he systematically outlined the transformation and development pathways for rehabilitation hospitals amid healthcare insurance payment reform, and provided a detailed account of how Nanjing Zijin Hospital has leveraged six strategic initiatives to break through challenges, thereby building core competitiveness—along with insights into its practical experience and future prospects.

Ge Jiangping pointed out that, driven by a rapid increase in the elderly population, a high prevalence of chronic diseases, and improved survival rates for severe cases, demand for rehabilitation services is experiencing explosive growth. At the same time, reforms in health insurance payment models, rising patient expectations, and intensifying market competition are compelling the rehabilitation healthcare sector to proactively embrace change if it is to achieve sustainable development in the new era. The practical insights shared by Nanjing Zijin Hospital have provided valuable lessons for the industry, and its innovative initiatives have garnered widespread attention from peers both domestically and internationally.

Gao Jirong, Director of the Wake‑Promotion Center at Nanjing Zijin Hospital, outlined the hospital’s 30-year journey of exploration in the field of consciousness‑disorder assessment. He focused on the evolution of assessment scales—starting with the development of the China Nanjing Vegetative State Scale (CNPVSS) and culminating in the creation of the China Nanjing Consciousness Recovery Scale (CNCRS)—as well as comparisons with international scales, the structure, scoring, and interpretive framework of these tools, and the initiation of multi‑center studies to evaluate the CNCRS’s reliability and validity. He expressed confidence that Chinese standards will, in the future, guide and illuminate the global landscape of diagnosis and treatment for disorders of consciousness.

Highlight: The Light of Taiji Shines on the International Stage

On the 23rd, at the special invitation of the organizers, Gao Hongliang, head of the Rehabilitation Therapy Center at Nanjing Zijin Hospital, presented a stunning Tai Chi demonstration and instructional session in the rooftop garden of the conference center. The conference chair, Dr. Chung Tze Yang, also attended the event in person.

At 6:50 a.m., the rooftop garden was already bustling with nearly 30 rehabilitation professionals from numerous countries across Asia and Oceania, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia.

In the lesson, Director Gao used a step-by-step demonstration of classic forms such as “Qi Shi,” “Yun Shou,” and “Dan Bian” to precisely elucidate the Taiji philosophy of “guiding qi with intention and moving the body through qi.”

This Taiji teaching event not only highlighted the contemporary value of Taiji as a traditional therapeutic exercise, but also forged a bridge for international rehabilitation exchange.

During the Ninth Asia–Oceania Conference on Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Ge Jiangping, President of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, served as one of the representatives of the Rehabilitation Medicine Professional Committee of the China Association of Private Medical Institutions and granted an exclusive interview to the conference, in which he highly commended the event’s organizational efforts and its academic significance.

Dean Ge Jiangping stated that this conference strikes a balance between breadth and depth in its program, covering cutting-edge advancements in rehabilitation medicine while addressing the practical challenges faced at the grassroots level. In particular, the newly established “China Forum on the High-Quality Development of the Non-Public Rehabilitation Industry” has provided a rare platform for exchange among rehabilitation professionals across Asia and Oceania.

“Through in-depth exchanges with experts from around the world at this conference, we will integrate these international best practices with local realities, further enhancing the quality of medical care and advancing the high-quality development of China’s rehabilitation medicine sector.”