GABORONE, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Medical experts from China and Botswana on Tuesday held an online case discussion meeting.

Members of the 17th batch of the Chinese medical team to Botswana and their local counterparts specializing in urogenital medicine at hospitals in the southern African country shared experiences during the online meeting with colleagues from the Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital in China's southeastern Fujian Province.

They discussed three medical cases to seek second opinions on the treatment of complicated patients.

Ivan Kgetse, superintendent of Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital, praised the initiative, saying the online case discussion would go a long way toward improving the delivery of medical care and advancing Botswana's healthcare system.

"We have a better chance to compare how other teams treat their patients and then come up with better ways to assist those seeking medical attention with the resources we have," Kgetse said.

For his part, Chen Gang, president of the Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital, said the online case discussion would help strengthen ties between the hospitals.

"We hope we can help many patients through such meetings in the future," Chen said via video link, adding that he expects Botswanan medical staff to visit the Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital for further in-person exchanges.

Since 1981, 17 groups of Chinese doctors and nurses have been sent to work in hospitals in Gaborone and Francistown, totaling more than 500 medical professionals. ■