Ping An Unlocks the Code to High-Quality Medical Services with Its Optimal Solution

As a key reference for observing China’s “new middle class,” the 2022 New Middle Class White Paper, released by the Xiaobaogao team of Wu Xiaobo Channel, has attracted significant attention.

The report shows that in 2022, more than three-quarters of the new middle class had a monthly average expenditure ranging from RMB 6,000 to RMB 50,000. Apart from “children’s education” and “housing,” which ranked first and second respectively, “medical and healthcare” jumped to third place with a share of 27%. After experiencing prolonged and widespread health challenges, people’s attention to health issues has increased significantly.

Unlike the traditional “seeking care only when ill” approach, a new health paradigm—the “Proactive Health Model”—is surging.

As a medical model aimed at enhancing human physiological functions or reversing chronic diseases, the proactive health model has garnered increasing attention in the post-pandemic era. Within the realm of routine health management services, premium health management services are gaining favor among the growing middle class due to their customized, end-to-end offerings covering screening, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as their closed-loop management of the entire disease course. This trend is gradually extending to the elderly population and high-risk groups.

Driven by recent national policy support, the rising consumption power of China’s population, and the surging trend of proactive health, the total market size of consumer healthcare services in China is projected to accelerate at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.9% from 2021 to 2025.

The booming development of consumer-driven healthcare is driven by the ever-rising expectations for medical services, as people seek more professional, efficient, and high-quality care. This also represents the core objective of advancing premium health services.

In the design of health service product systems, high-end health services'Customized Product Design, enabling an effective integration of efficiency, technology, and service. Given that core health determinants—such as physical condition, living environment, and individual genetic profile—vary significantly among the high-end health service clientele, homogeneous service offerings struggle to provide truly meaningful health advice. In contrast, customized solutions tailored to individual needs effectively address this challenge, thereby achieving a high degree of customer satisfaction.

In the context of proactive health needs,Early InterventionIt is a critically important component. The medical principle of “treating potential disease before it manifests” represents an optimal healthcare service option. However, existing healthcare services are often concentrated on the “treatment phase after disease onset.” Premium health services can leverage cutting-edge diagnostic and testing equipment, along with advanced medical technical capabilities, to enable early prevention and timely intervention during the pre-clinical stage, thereby preventing diseases from occurring in the first place.

However, beyond the ideal state, grappling with various diseases is the norm for high-net-worth individuals. Data shows that 26% of high-net-worth couples both suffer from chronic diseases, and 90% of high-net-worth individuals have parents afflicted with chronic conditions. Whether a service can truly play a role during the medical intervention phase is a key indicator for evaluating premium health service products. In China, existing high-quality medical resources are largely concentrated in public hospitals, raising the question of whether it is possible to achieveRapid Referral to Renowned Physicians and Prestigious Hospitals, which has become the core reason why most people choose premium health services.

The three points above constitute the core elements driving the expansion of high-end health management services. It is precisely the existence of relevant market demand that has spurred rapid growth in this sector.

Taking Ping An Healthcare (Testing) Center as an example, its recently launched Changxiang Membership product is a premium health management solution tailored for high-net-worth individuals. Aligned with Ping An Group’s value proposition of “worry-free, time-saving, and cost-effective,” the product offers customized, one-stop, comprehensive family health management services.

The Enjoy Membership features a “1+X” service model. The “1” centers on an individual or a family, providing a customized, comprehensive, and in-depth screening package, a set of intervention plans for specific diseases, and promoting a healthy lifestyle and wellness philosophy. The “X” represents the limitless possibilities of personalized customization: an increasingly diverse range of health options, the capability to address various familial medical and healthcare needs, and concierge-style services that meet high-quality medical demands.

However, the tension between unlimited demand and limited resources presents a paradox. Whether time efficiency, medical technology, and medical services can be simultaneously optimized, and how to achieve the optimal integration of these three elements, has become a major challenge for high-end healthcare service providers.

In the post-pandemic era, the demand for health management services has been further unleashed. The market’s call for more professional, efficient, and comprehensive medical services represents both the requirements placed on health management products and the core competencies that third-party medical institutions must cultivate.

To upgrade its high-quality medical service capabilities, Ping An Healthcare (Testing) Center has leveraged the advantages of its industry-pioneering “four-in-one” business model—comprising diagnostic imaging, clinical laboratory testing, specialized care, and premium health checkups—to create the Changxiang Membership product, which integrates the three core elements of “professionalism, exclusivity, and prestige.”

From a professional standpoint, Ping An Healthcare (Testing) Center’s Changxiang Membership product continues to strengthen its offerings in two key areas: health check-ups and specialized disease screening.

In terms of product design, our health checkup offerings differ from the perfunctory packages commonly found in the market. The Changxiang Membership program establishes a comprehensive, multi-dimensional health profile for each user. Experts design personalized examination plans, leveraging advanced diagnostic equipment such as PET/CT, 3.0T MRI, 256-slice CT, and fully imported automated laboratory lines from Siemens and Beckman Coulter. This enables precise, all-encompassing screening of clients’ health status. For high-risk disease categories, we provide specialized screenings comparable to those offered by top-tier tertiary hospitals.

The scarcity advantage of premium membership products is primarily reflected in addressing the challenges of accessing medical care. In China, the doctor-to-patient ratio stands at 1:950, resulting in a significant shortage of expert-level physicians. Consequently, how to gain access to renowned doctors and prestigious hospitals has become the foremost concern for all patients seeking medical treatment.

Ping An Healthcare (Testing) Center’s Enjoy Membership product achieves comprehensive coverage in both breadth and depth across its network of renowned physicians and top-tier hospitals. As of the end of June 2023, Ping An has achieved 100% cooperative coverage with China’s Top 100 hospitals and Grade A tertiary hospitals through supplier integration. Ping An’s in-house medical team comprises nearly 4,000 doctors, while the number of externally contracted physicians exceeds 50,000. Ping An Healthcare (Testing) Centers are established in 11 cities across China, covering 27 provinces with nearly 450 medical service endpoints. Additionally, customers will have access to private physicians and health managers, who provide dedicated support via enterprise WeChat groups to address inquiries and fulfill needs throughout the entire process of health check-ups and medical consultations.

In terms of service, the center emphasizes a high-quality, exclusive butler-style experience. The health management services provided through its membership products are often described by clients as “five-star” or “flight-attendant level.” This stems from the endogenous growth drive of Ping An Healthcare (Check-up) Center to become China’s leading comprehensive medical and health service provider, focusing not only on serious medical care but also placing significant importance on service experience. Its hallmark is warm, in-person service: from the moment clients arrive, they enjoy exclusive privileges such as pre-examination consultations, VIP private rooms, one-on-one personal guidance through the examination process, fast-track access, and preliminary report interpretation. Another dimension of this exclusivity lies in the provision of systematic health management solutions. This includes establishing health information records, followed by systematic tracking and reminders for various health benefits throughout the health management journey—such as face-to-face health consultations, post-examination follow-ups, medication reminders, health education, as well as subsequent health salons and health consultations.

Ping An Healthcare (Screening) Center has simultaneously launched its premium medical tourism services. Building on the aforementioned advantages, this offering integrates high-end health screenings with travel, providing clients with personalized, dynamic, and leisure-oriented premium health management services.

Ping An places particular emphasis on the aggregation and integration of resources. On this foundation, Ping An Healthcare (Diagnostic) Center has thoughtfully crafted products for its customers that deliver exceptionally high experiential value, as demonstrated by past practice. The underlying logic behind the design of the Changxiang Membership product warrants careful consideration.

China’s policies have prioritized public health as a strategic development priority, asserting that “there can be no comprehensive well-off society without universal health.” The subsequent rollout of a series of policies has not only met societal needs but also demonstrated strategic foresight. To better implement reforms in China’s healthcare system and mechanisms, and to further establish and improve the social security system, it is essential to develop diverse health management services.

In the era of proactive health, distinct from the past focus on diagnosing and treating known diseases, forward-looking health service management delivers comprehensive health services and protection spanning from fetal development to the end of life. As a vital component of its health management offerings, Ping An Healthcare (Testing) Center has meticulously crafted and sincerely launched the Changxiang Membership product. This initiative represents a key step in upgrading customer service and further embodies the company’s core value of prioritizing customers’ health needs.

As health awareness among the Chinese public continues to rise, diverse, refined, and advanced health needs have become increasingly prominent. The semi-annual report recently released by Ping An Group shows that Ping An provides online, in-person, and at-home medical and health services to 229 million individual customers and 33,000 corporate clients. Notably, 29.7% of newly acquired financial customers came from the Group’s healthcare ecosystem, and customers enjoying “+Service” benefits accounted for over 68% of the new business value in life insurance. Ping An Healthcare (Check-up) Center has further expanded the depth and breadth of its health management services. Leveraging capabilities honed through long-term service to the Group’s integrated financial customers, combined with years of continuous exploration and deep cultivation across China, its ability to deliver high-quality medical services has emerged with remarkable strength.