Riding the Silver Wave: How 'Internet + Chronic Disease Management' Is Driving the Upgrade of China's Wellness and Elder Care Industry

On the morning of October 22, the closing session of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. The government report delivered at the 20th Party Congress explicitly called for enhancing people’s well-being, improving their quality of life, and implementing a national strategy to proactively address population aging. As early as 2021, following the release of the Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census, central and local governments intensively rolled out supportive policies to foster the development of the elderly care industry by expanding service supply and strengthening social security systems. These policy initiatives reflect the nation’s ongoing exploration of proactive responses to population aging.

Advancing the Construction of a Healthy China, the StateRapid deployment, precise execution. In the face of this major issue concerning public well-being,VCBeatSeparatelyIn-depth analysis ofDomestic and International Chronic Disease Management Service Platforms——Fangzhou Pharmaceutical Groupand Canada’s CWI Health Management Center, two enterprises with distinctive characteristics in chronic disease management, provide reference points for the industry’s exploration of how to “bridge the digital divide in elderly healthcare.”

The “Blue Book on the Development of Healthy Aging in China: Research and Policy Measures for Proactively Responding to Population Aging (2022),” released in June 2022, projects that market demand for health management—centered on disease prevention, health management, health education, nutritional diets, and health examinations—will gradually be unleashed, giving rise to a vast market.

Meanwhile, data from the “2022 White Paper on Online Medication Trends” recently released by Ali Health alsoDisplay, the "new elderly" (aged 50 and above) have emerged as a "new force" in online pharmaceutical purchases, leading other demographics with a growth rate of nearly 70%; 83% of this group report "diverse medication needs and desire for one-stop solutions."

Silver-Haired Health Needs Are Being Unleashed, as Foreign Companies Have Long Embarked on the Path of Exploration. For example, North America has24YearofChronic Disease Management ExperienceofCanadian Wellness Institute (CWI) (hereinafter referred to as “CWI”),WithAdvanced Lifestyle Medicine Concepts and Chronic Disease InterventionEfficacyLeading the Shift in Chronic Disease Management from Treatment to Prevention, has established a systematic lifestyle medicine service model covering the entire life cycle, providing comprehensive intervention and health management for healthy individuals, those in sub-health status, and patients with chronic diseases across five dimensions: exercise, nutrition, stress, sleep, and psychology.Primarily offline, through intensive interventionImplementation of Elderly Care Services. Following its launch in China, CWI developed a digital health management platform based on the lifestyle medicine intervention model, providing users with comprehensive, round-the-clock, and continuous monitoring and management that integrates online and offline services as well as in-hospital and out-of-hospital care.

After completing a course of chronic disease intervention at an offline health management center, patients use CWI-equipped smart wearable devices to receive online health interventions in out-of-hospital settings. This novel model not only serves patients but also empowers communities, medical services, and elderly care projects, thereby facilitating tiered diagnosis and treatment as well as the integration of medical and elderly care.In recent years,CWICostleOver several years, we have established collaborative partnerships with domestic industry associations, medical institutions, and enterprises, laying the academic foundation and providing localization support for subsequent market entry into China.

Compared to the tortuous path of “doing as the locals do” taken by foreign institutions, domestically grown enterprises have been deeply involved in the growth of China’s digital healthcare industry.。In promoting the development of the healthy aging industry,Chinese domestic companies have a more precise grasp of the healthcare needs of populations at different life stages and the corresponding trends in digital technology application.

As a local enterprise deeply engaged in chronic disease management services,Fangzhou Pharmaceutical has established an H2H (Hospital to Home) smart healthcare business ecosystem, extending medical services, chronic disease management, doctor-patient education, and pharmaceutical services from hospitals gradually into patients’ homes. This enables home-based disease care for patients, thereby improving their healthcare experience, enhancing the timeliness of medical services, and increasing the accessibility of pharmaceutical services. Meanwhile, through cutting-edge technologies such as data engines, AI applications, and hybrid edge-cloud computing,Internet hospitals, online pharmacies, chronic disease management service centers, innovative payment solutions, and health new media centers have been established.A business-supported internet-based closed-loop service for chronic diseases, capable of providing patients with continuous, full-lifecycle and whole-course management.

According toDataIt shows that the incidence of chronic diseases in China is rising year by year and trending toward younger populations.。Unhealthy lifestyle habits, immense life stress, and factors such as sleep and exercise have made young peopleChronic Disease Serviceswith diverse and personalized needs. Based on this, Fangzhou Pharmaceutical has built a platform that canComprehensive Solutions Covering Diverse Healthcare Needs.

First, by deeply cultivating vertical sectors, chronic disease management services are gradually becoming more specialized, refined, and technology-driven.In recent years, Fangzhou Pharmaceutical has broken the traditional "face-to-face" model of healthcare by empowering "familiar doctor-patient relationships" with full-chain AI technology, enabling doctors and patients to communicate conveniently and efficiently through digital platforms. This effectively addresses challenges faced by chronic disease patients, such as difficulties in accessing medical care and purchasing medications, poor medication adherence, and information asymmetry between doctors and patients, thereby making "borderless medical consultations" a reality. Particularly under the service model of the "One-Stop" Chronic Disease Management Service Center, professional medication guidance from a medically trained team, regular telephone follow-ups, and patient education are provided throughout each treatment cycle. These services enhance patient adherence and help reduce and prevent irrational drug use and adverse reactions.

Next, it covers the entire process of online consultations and follow-up visits for medication purchases, improving the quality of life for patients with chronic diseases. It is reported that Fangzhou Pharmaceutical Group is currently collaborating with Guangzhou Qishi Hospital and the General Hospital of the Third Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps to build a smart internet hospital, which has gradually integrated with the medical insurance settlement system.By leveraging digital tools to accurately assess patients’ medication needs and feedback, and by optimizing the allocation of medical resources through an online closed-loop ecosystem encompassing electronic prescription circulation, pharmaceutical services, and innovative payment solutions, we enhance drug accessibility. This enables patients with chronic diseases to complete online consultations, follow-up visits, and medication purchases from home, thereby eliminating the need for repeated hospital trips. This approach not only reduces patients’ healthcare and transportation costs but also improves medication adherence and quality of life.

Furthermore, while providing innovative digital services for the entire course of disease, it is essential to emphasizeUsercomprehensive experience care throughout the entire journey.To better provide patients with health services and innovative treatment solutions, Fangzhou Pharmaceutical has established a team of physician assistants, an in-house physician team, and a panel of specially appointed medical expert consultants. These teams deliver enhanced services throughout the course of disease management, including medication support, health education, and consultative follow-ups, thereby consolidating therapeutic outcomes and reducing or delaying the onset of complications.

It is worth mentioning that,Fangzhou Pharmaceutical Group"Crafted"Medical Team with Professional BackgroundCustomer service, offering more humanized, refined, and compassionate support.One-on-one human follow-up services delivered via video, voice calls, and other channels foster greater patient trust, facilitate the establishment of stable, familiar physician-patient relationships, enable continuous communication, and support the delivery of subsequent chronic disease management services.

Fangzhou Pharmaceutical Group has launched “Fangzhou Medical Talk,” a specialized health education platform for chronic disease management, to address issues through health science popularization.UserThe pain point in accessing medical information lies in the lack of professional, in-depth medical knowledge, which causes difficulties for patients during diagnosis and treatment. Meanwhile, "Fangzhou Medical Talk" innovates in content format by presenting a vast amount of professional health information through short videos, illustrated articles, comics, audio, and Q&A sessions, meetingStagesChronic DiseasesPopulationThe demand for professional health science popularization knowledge enables the precise and efficient capture of accurate information in the current era of information explosion, helpingUserCultivate healthy lifestyle habits centered on evidence-based diagnosis, treatment, and medication use.

“Helping the elderly now is helping our future selves.” What these enterprises are exploring is a future that awaits us all.

VCBeat believes that in an era swept by the silver economy wave, only “humanity + technology” can create people-centric quality services, and only such services—characterized by professionalism, warmth, and a thoughtful attitude—can truly resonate withLargethe hearts of the public. Fortunately, with the continuous emergence of new technologies, new services, and new achievements,Driven by multiple policies and the demographic dividend of the aging population, practitioners in chronic disease management servicesAlready on this path concerning people's livelihood and well-beingA new path has been explored.They are servingOkayWhile serving patients with chronic diseases, it is also accelerating the improvement of user adherence, continuously exploring users' deeper needs, and laying a solid foundation for establishing an efficient, full-cycle closed-loop service for chronic disease management, thereby delivering outcomes that can serve as a reference for the industry.Answer Sheet。

Warmth for the Elderly, Commitment Reflected in the Sunset Glow. We believe that proactively addressing population aging requires concerted efforts from all sectors of society. This demands not only continuous policy initiatives to serve as foundational regulatory forces, driving stakeholders to prioritize and take action, but also the technological innovation capabilities of internet-based innovative enterprises such as Fangzhou Pharmaceutical, which translate the philosophy of “creating value for users” into tangible products and services.。