Hainan's First Grassroots Digital Therapeutics Center for Chronic Respiratory Diseases Launched in Dongjiao Town, Wenchang

On July 9, the “Digital Therapeutics Center for Chronic Respiratory Diseases” at the Dongjiao Town Central Health Center in Wenchang City, Hainan Province, was officially unveiled, becoming Hainan’s first benchmark project to deeply integrate digital therapeutics into the grassroots prevention and control system for chronic respiratory diseases. The establishment of this center represents a significant practice in Hainan Province’s efforts to build a national hub for innovation and application of “digital therapeutics,” marking a crucial step forward in promoting high-quality integration of medical care and disease prevention at the grassroots level and addressing the challenges posed by chronic respiratory diseases.

China has a large population of patients with chronic respiratory diseases and a high incidence rate. Taking chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as an example, the prevalence rate among individuals aged 40 and above reaches 13.7%, meaning one in every eight people suffers from COPD. The number of patients is nearly 100 million, imposing a heavy disease burden. After COPD was included in the National Basic Public Health Services Program in 2024, primary healthcare facilities faced new requirements for providing precise and continuous services. Traditional models have significant shortcomings in patient screening, medication guidance, and ensuring treatment adherence. In recent years, Hainan Province has introduced a series of supportive policies to accelerate the development of the digital health industry.The Dongjiao Town Central Health Center took the lead in introducing advanced concepts, focusing on high-burden respiratory diseases such as COPD, and established the "Respiratory Chronic Disease Digital Therapeutics Center." It addresses the pain points of primary care diagnosis and treatment through a "One Network, One Platform" approach. At the grassroots level, leveraging the advantages of community- and village-based grid management, the center has densified its screening network to precisely reach every resident and efficiently identify high-risk populations. Compared with traditional large-scale manual screening campaigns conducted in rural areas, this approach significantly improves efficiency while ensuring quality. High-risk information is aggregated at the center, where an integrated "Diagnosis-Treatment-Follow-up-Management" platform enables patients to complete the entire diagnosis and treatment process at their local township hospital without leaving town. Furthermore, the center has innovatively launched a family doctor service package driven by digital therapeutics, achieving data-driven precision health management. This truly realizes a patient-centered approach, strengthening primary healthcare and promoting development.

According to reports, the "Respiratory Chronic Disease Digital Therapeutics Center" at the Dongjiao Town Central Health Center in Wenchang City is the second grassroots model facility of its kind to be officially designated nationwide. Since its trial operation began, the center has achieved a nearly threefold increase in the positive detection rate for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with a quality control compliance rate exceeding 99% for pulmonary function testing. Patient benefit cases vividly demonstrate the value of the center’s establishment: Ms. Li, a 74-year-old patient, previously experienced recurrent acute exacerbations due to improper inhalation techniques. Through precise error correction and repeated training provided by the center’s medication administration robot, her correct inhalation technique rate increased from less than 5% to 99% within one week, stabilizing her condition and significantly improving typical symptoms such as cough, sputum production, and wheezing. Another patient, Mr. Wang, aged 68, had poor symptom control after being diagnosed with COPD. After enrolling in the center’s specialized family doctor service package, it was identified that his long-term medication adherence was below 60%. With intelligent reminders from the platform and remote guidance from physicians, his medication adherence rose to 98% within four weeks, his COPD Assessment Test (CAT) score decreased from 30 to 15, and his modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale score dropped from 4 to 2, resulting in a substantial improvement in his quality of life.

Mr. Cai, who was interviewed, said, “I learned about this place by scanning a QR code for lung examinations. Previously, the local community health center could only prescribe medications, and we had to travel to large hospitals in the city center for medical consultations. As I suffered from both shortness of breath and coughing, the round trip would exhaust me completely. Now, I can undergo examinations and receive medication and treatment right at my doorstep. The doctors are highly professional, and specialists from major hospitals occasionally come here for free clinics. I no longer need to make trips to big hospitals. My family has noticed a significant reduction in my coughing. Since the treatment is effective locally, I will continue receiving care here.”

“The exploration undertaken by the Dongjiao Town Central Health Center serves as a benchmark. It is not only a practical application scenario for digital therapeutics but also a ‘testing ground’ for the management of chronic respiratory diseases at the primary care level across the province,” stated Professor Ding Yipeng from Hainan Provincial People’s Hospital at the conference. As a “pioneer zone” in Hainan Province’s deployment of digital therapeutics at the grassroots level, the experience of the Dongjiao “Chronic Respiratory Disease Digital Therapeutics Center” provides a model worthy of reference throughout the province. This model has significantly enhanced the diagnosis and treatment capabilities for respiratory diseases at the primary care level, achieving tangible results in standardized diagnosis and treatment, refined management, expansion of medical services, and patient satisfaction. It effectively addresses challenges related to uneven resource distribution and insufficient capacity, representing a key practice in promoting high-quality development of primary healthcare in Hainan Province. The multidimensional real-world medical data generated by the center can further empower primary hospitals to improve their clinical research and technology transfer capabilities, provide a scientific basis for optimizing provincial strategies for the prevention and control of chronic respiratory diseases, and contribute “Hainan evidence” to the research, evaluation, and development of novel digital therapeutics.

In the future, the center will continue to deepen collaboration with higher-level hospitals, optimize the application of digital therapeutics, and expand personalized health management, striving to become a solid grassroots pillar for “Healthy Hainan” and contributing Hainan’s wisdom to national innovation in digital therapeutics.