China’s silver economy: elderly patients hire ‘companions’ to help navigate healthcare red tape
Authorities are betting big on the ‘silver economy’ to tailor products and services for the elderly as China’s population ages
At a bustling Beijing hospital, Tian Yigui hands over some of his elderly wife's paperwork to Meng Jia, a patient companion hired to help them navigate China's stretched and bureaucratic healthcare system. Finding professional companions on social media to help ease patients’ hassles in Chinese hospitals has been a rising trend, with hundreds of advertisements for patient companions posted on Chinese social media in recent years. The growth of patient companions or peizhenshi is part of a rise in unofficial services in the country’s emerging gig and silver economies, which are catering to the needs of a growing elderly population in the country.