From Smart Healthcare to Digital Health: 123 Digital Health Officially Launches with IPO Filing

From exploring the path of digital healthcare by standing on the “shoulders” of smart healthcare, to implementing digital healthcare services and using digital technology to provide an “umbrella” of out-of-hospital management for both doctors and patients, 123 Smart Healthcare has successfully transitioned from version 1.0 to 2.0, embarking on a new journey in 123 Digital Healthcare.

Liu Yanbin, Founder and CEO of 123 Digital Health Group, introduced that 123 Digital Health is a digital health enterprise providing integrated, full-course disease management services in specialized medical fields. Compared with the term “smart healthcare,” the name “123 Digital Health” more comprehensively and intuitively reflects the company’s business model and scenarios, helping to better establish brand image and market recognition.

“Yanbin and I reached a consensus at our very first meeting: we would leverage the power of digital technology to provide patients with targeted, digital whole-course disease management services.” In an era marked by the rise of digital health, the story of 123 Digital Health originated not only from the founders’ initial encounter but also from the mature international application of digital therapeutics in disease management.

Bi Jia, co-founder of 123 Digital Health Group, introduced that the application of digital therapeutics abroad is relatively mature. Disease management therapies have demonstrated that, through evidence-based medicine, integrating and analyzing patient vital signs, medical records, and daily health data can establish effective disease prediction mechanisms. These mechanisms provide early warnings and contingency plans for patients at high risk of disease recurrence and complications, thereby preventing progression to severe conditions.

More than a decade ago, international discussions on digital health had already begun. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, calls for digital health solutions have surged, with new digital therapeutics continuously gaining regulatory approval. Since its launch in 2019, The Lancet Digital Health has published a steady stream of research findings on the application of digital therapeutics in disease management.

As digital health transforms the lives of patients across many European and American countries, expectations for digital health in China have grown significantly. Currently, the average hospital stay for patients has decreased from the previous 5–7 days to 3–5 days, making out-of-hospital settings the primary “battlefield” for disease management. Given the limitations in human and material resources, digital health is poised to play a significant role in the out-of-hospital management of patients.

In reality, public medical institutions lack the capacity to provide out-of-hospital management, and service providers offering inclusive out-of-hospital management services are exceedingly rare. As a result, many patients with critical illnesses, lacking access to professional out-of-hospital care, continue to struggle with recurrent disease episodes and relapses.

The two founders of 123 Digital Health Group have personally experienced such helplessness and resignation.

Both founders have personally witnessed the deterioration of their loved ones’ conditions due to a lack of out-of-hospital care management. Bi Jia further candidly stated that if her father were to fall ill at this current stage, she would be able to provide more professional, continuous, and high-quality out-of-hospital care management, thereby achieving a relatively satisfactory survival period and quality of life.

Determined to prevent such regrets from becoming a lingering burden for more people, the two founders hit it off instantly upon their first meeting. Thus, 123 Digital Health was established in 2020, amid the severe COVID-19 pandemic, ushering in a period of upward growth.

Advancements and development in healthcare require the participation of society as a whole. The ability of 123 Digital Health to establish itself in a highly competitive market is attributable not only to the founder’s unique strategic deployment but also to the support from all sectors of society.

At its inception, the company garnered support from the Fudan University Institute for Sixth-Industry Research, the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China, and the Scientific and Technical Literature Press, which recognized its promising development trajectory. Their backing has helped propel Yiersan Digital Healthcare toward sustained, long-term growth.

“We identified oncology, assisted reproduction, and organ transplantation as key categories of major diseases from the outset,” said Liu Yanbin, Founder and CEO of 123 Digital Health Group. He explained that patients with these conditions often live with their illnesses for extended periods, making out-of-hospital follow-up guidance and rehabilitation services particularly crucial, as they directly impact long-term treatment outcomes, late-onset complications, and survival time.

To better serve this patient population, 123 Digital Health pioneered the establishment of a research-oriented internet hospital nationwide during its early stages. It has developed in-depth and meticulous digital whole-course disease management services for specific conditions, employing Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO)-based case management protocols. By continuously identifying and addressing service gaps, the company has cultivated a “patient-centered” care model that reduces the risk of complications and improves patients’ quality of life and survival outcomes.

“Our goal is to achieve long-term patient benefits by optimizing resource allocation, innovating service models, establishing a Disease-Specific Integrated Care Management (DSICM) system, and forming a multidisciplinary comprehensive service quality control team, thereby truly integrating service management with scientific research,” said Liu Yanbin. He noted that during the long-term digital whole-course management process, the company’s three key hallmarks—continuous proactive management, an evidence-based intelligent platform, and the “service-as-research” model—have gained recognition from patients, researchers, and the market.

Serving patients and supporting scientific research remain the founding mission of 123 Digital Health. Guided by three core principles—continuous proactive management, an evidence-based intelligent platform, and a “service-as-research” model—the company delivers integrated, continuous, and proactive health management services for patients both in-hospital and out-of-hospital through its DSICM system. Leveraging the extensive collection of medical and health literature from Science and Technology Literature Press as its evidence base, and collaborating with clinical experts, the company develops personalized care plans tailored to each disease and individual patient for out-of-hospital management, thereby helping patients adhere to standardized treatment protocols.

For years, the company has collaborated with departments and physicians at tertiary hospitals to provide integrated “multi-to-one” digital whole-disease-course management services for patients with major conditions such as cancer, assisted reproduction, and kidney transplantation. These services seamlessly combine in-hospital and out-of-hospital care, as well as online and offline modalities. Meanwhile, the patient management process serves as a subject for scientific research, enabling timely acquisition of clinical evidence on disease management and implementation of improvement measures, thereby optimizing whole-disease-course management services and facilitating the translation of research achievements into practice.

In recent years, 123 Digital Health has been deeply involved in medical research projects, optimizing and upgrading its “Integrated Management” system to conduct high-quality, high-efficiency digital disease course management research and ecosystem services in specialized disease areas. Leveraging the inherent advantages of its supporting institutions, the company adopts an evidence-based intelligent medicine model, utilizing technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence. By implementing a “service-as-research” model, it assists medical researchers in conducting clinical problem-oriented scientific studies, alleviates the burden of repetitive tasks for healthcare professionals, and provides patients with superior out-of-hospital management services.

Going forward, 123 Digital Health will further empower disease management, industry services, and scientific research with digital capabilities, enabling digital healthcare to better serve patients, scientific research, and the industry.