JD Health and The First Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Launch Internet Hospital to Pioneer Online TCM Services

On December 26, the “2021 Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Health Festival,” hosted by the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (hereinafter referred to as “Tianjin TCM First Hospital”), officially opened. At the opening ceremony, the “Internet Hospital of the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,” jointly established by JD Health and Tianjin TCM First Hospital, was officially unveiled and launched. This initiative brings TCM health services—including online follow-up consultations, medication delivery, and health education—to Tianjin’s 13.9 million residents, propelling the integration of “Internet + TCM” to new heights. Moving forward, both parties will continue to leverage the advantages of TCM in chronic disease management and health care, further enhancing the accessibility of TCM health services.

Wang Jianguo, Vice Chairman of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission; Shi Xuemin, National Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Liu Gesheng, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Mao Jingyuan, President of the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; JD HealthWitnessed by CEO Jin Enlin and other distinguished guests.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a gem of China’s traditional culture. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, TCM has played an active role in patient treatment and epidemic containment. Tianjin has long possessed solid foundational advantages in the TCM industry. The 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Tianjin explicitly aims to significantly enhance the accessibility of TCM services and strengthen primary-care TCM service capacity; it also calls for intensified promotion and dissemination of TCM health culture to comprehensively improve the public’s TCM health literacy.

The First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, established in 1954, is a National Clinical Medical Research Center for Acupuncture and Moxibustion and a National Clinical Research Base for Traditional Chinese Medicine. With robust comprehensive strength, it ranks among the top traditional Chinese medicine hospitals nationwide in medical care, education, research, and comprehensive service capabilities.

In response to Tianjin’s call to enhance traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) services and promote TCM culture, the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine has partnered with JD Health to jointly establish an internet hospital. This initiative will comprehensively meet local residents’ demand for online TCM consultations—encompassing the four diagnostic methods of inspection, auscultation and olfaction, inquiry, and pulse-taking—and bring the rich health benefits of this “national essence” to the people of Tianjin.

It is reported that users can search for “Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine First Affiliated Hospital” on the WeChat Mini Program and click to access the Internet Hospital. After completing registration, they can enjoy TCM health services such as health consultations, online medical consultations, online payments, and medication delivery. Physicians can also provide services including doctor-patient communication, prescription issuance, consultation management, and patient education online.

Academician Shi Xuemin stated in his address that the collaboration between the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and JD Health represents a perfect integration of traditional Chinese medicine and modern internet technology. With the continuous iterative development of mobile internet, the internetTechnological innovations in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) will play an increasingly important role in internet hospitals, big data, artificial intelligence, and preventive care. This represents a significant opportunity for transformation in physical TCM medical service institutions; those with well-developed services that take the lead in establishing standards will reap substantial development benefits.

As the concept of full-lifecycle health management gains widespread adoption, public health awareness continues to rise, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) services are gradually expanding from their traditional focus on “preventive treatment of disease” to cover a more diverse range of health scenarios.

Focusing on the innovative development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), JD Health continues to deepen its engagement in the TCM sector. By building an internet-based closed-loop service model integrating “TCM practices and Chinese herbal medicine,” it provides patients with integrated online-to-offline TCM health services, contributing to the digital and intelligent transformation of the traditional TCM industry.

In 2020, JD Health successively launched the “JD Health Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and TCM Consultation Center” and the “JD Health TCM Decoction Pieces Service Platform,” inviting more than 9,000 TCM physicians to join its platform. These experts include National Medical Masters such as Zhang Daning, and nationally renowned senior TCM practitioners like Gao Sihua, providing users and patients with one-stop services that encompass online consultations, medication purchases, decoction services, and home delivery.

In January this year, JD Health partnered with the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine to establish Henan’s first traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) internet hospital, advancing the digital and intelligent transformation of healthcare. This initiative has created an integrated online-offline medical service system covering pre-consultation, consultation, and post-consultation stages, pioneering an innovative “smart TCM healthcare” model. After nearly a year of operational exploration, the “First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine JD Internet Hospital” now hosts nearly 800 physicians, has served a cumulative total of 130,000 users, and extends its services across 30 provinces throughout China.

With the launch and operation of the “Internet Hospital of the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,” JD Health will continue to collaborate with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospitals to optimize the allocation of TCM medical resources, expand the service radius for patients, and explore new approaches to building TCM internet hospitals.

Jin Enlin, CEO of JD Health, stated that in the future, JD Health will collaborate with more industry partners and medical institutions to integrate resources and technical service capabilities in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). By leveraging “Internet + TCM,” the company aims to continuously improve patient service experiences, assist hospitals in enhancing quality and efficiency, and support public health and wellness through high-quality TCM services.