Where Lies the Opportunity in Digital Health as Capital Pours In?

More than two decades ago, Manuel Castells redefined society in the context of digitalization. He argued that the concept of place would no longer be confined to physical geographic space, but would instead become an abstracted space-time. People’s social activities would no longer be constrained by limited urban spaces, but would be significantly expanded within the space of flows provided by the network society.

Through Kast’s abstract description, we can see the power of digitalization. Today, its wave is surging forward, driving the transformation and upgrading of society as a whole.

As one of the most critical application scenarios, the healthcare industry is also undergoing structural changes.For instance, digital technologies have permeated every stage of drug research and development, manufacturing, and distribution, significantly enhancing the overall efficiency of the industry. The deployment of 5G networks and the increasing maturity of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have substantially reduced the management and maintenance costs of healthcare service institutions. Furthermore, the informatization and intelligent transformation of hospitals are driving a new round of iterative upgrades in traditional healthcare. As a primary driver of economic growth, the trend toward digitalization is unstoppable.

In fact, as early as 2009, the Chinese government launched a new round of healthcare reforms to explore models for reforming medical services, pharmaceuticals, and health insurance, emphasizing the importance of information integration. Subsequently, a large number of policies were issued, with “Internet Plus,” “intelligence,” and “digitalization” becoming key terms. Since 2015, the national government has intensively rolled out relevant policy documents, including the Guiding Opinions of the State Council on Actively Promoting the “Internet Plus” Action, the Implementation Plan for Promoting the “Cloud Migration, Data Utilization, and Intelligence Empowerment” Action to Foster the Development of the New Economy, and the Three-Year Action Plan for Promoting the Development of New-Generation Artificial Intelligence Industry (2018–2020), thereby charting the course for digital transformation in the healthcare sector.

Amid these opportunities, industries across the board are seeking answers for transformation and upgrading. Meanwhile, the substantial industrial value of this sector has attracted significant capital investment in digital health. According to data from VCBeat, there were 692 financing events in the digital healthcare sector in 2020, with total funding reaching RMB 133.5 billion, making it the second-largest field after biopharmaceuticals.

The Rapid Rise of Digital Health: Seizing the Opportunities Within. To accurately capture these opportunities and keep pace with this trend, it is essential to understand the industry’s development trajectory by looking beyond surface-level phenomena to find the underlying answers.

Zhejiang has a strong voice in digitalization. Long before digital transformation became a mainstream trend, Zhejiang Province launched the “Digital Zhejiang” initiative to further advance the development of its digital economy. After 18 years of evolution, “Digital Zhejiang” has undergone continuous iteration and deepening. The province’s path toward digital development has become increasingly clear, yielding substantial reform achievements.

Over the past two decades, Hangzhou has given rise to Alibaba, a global technology giant, as well as prominent digital health companies such as WeDoctor, DXY, Jianhai Technology, Weimai, and Zhuojian Technology. This demonstrates that, supported by multiple advantages including policy incentives, strategic location, and talent availability, Zhejiang Province possesses strong ecological synergy capabilities within the medical and general health industry.

As a highland of Zhejiang’s digital economy, Yuhang has been developed into a high-level innovation carrier in the field of digital health, possessing certain advantages and influence in discussions within this sector.One year ago, the inaugural Digital Health Conference was successfully held in the Future Sci-Tech City. At the conference, high-level industry experts, scholars, and professionals outlined the new landscape of “Digital Health” in the post-pandemic era from four dimensions: clinical practice, technology, industry, and economics, thereby providing valuable insights for the digital transformation of healthcare under normalized pandemic conditions.

This year,China (Hangzhou) Digital Health Conference to Relaunch on September 25Under the guidance of the Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission, the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology, and the People’s Government of Yuhang District, Hangzhou, this conference is hosted by the Zhejiang Health Service Industry Promotion Association and Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and organized by the Administrative Committee of Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City (Haichuang Park). Centered on the theme “Digital Reshaping of the Life and Health Ecosystem,” the event gathers core industry stakeholders to interpret future development trends, drive innovation and transformation in the health and medical sector, and establish an annual summit characterized by professional depth and broad outreach. It provides a platform for leading experts, scholars, and industry representatives to discuss and exchange insights on digital health development, unlocking greater possibilities in healthcare.

In terms of content design, this conference adopts a temporal axis to explore and envision the present and future of digital health, while employing a spatial axis to focus on global and Chinese developments and practical case studies in digital health, thereby constructing a three-dimensional, multi-dimensional industry perspective.

Guests will deliver keynote presentations on topics such as “Global Development Strategy for Digital Health,” “Smart Healthcare: Development and Future Applications,” “The Application Value of Blockchain Technology in Medical Digital Transformation,” “Practices of Internet Hospitals in Public Tertiary-A Hospitals,” and “Digital Reform of Health and Wellness in Zhejiang Province.” They will also engage in discussions around medical innovation, operational challenges of internet hospitals, the boundaries between digital/data technologies and healthcare, data security, pathways to achieving a closed-loop commercial model, and the construction of digital medical consortia. The event will interpret hotspots and frontiers in digital health from macro to micro perspectives, and from policy to practice.

The conference features dual chairs: Cai Xiujun, President of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and Zhu Yaochuan, President of the Zhejiang Health Service Industry Promotion Association.

The invited guests include Dr. Gao Li, WHO Representative to China; Ye Quanfu, Director of the National Health Commission’s Hospital Administration Institute; Chen Yu, Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Big Data Bureau; Dong Jiahong, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dean of the School of Clinical Medicine at Tsinghua University; Tan Weihong, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of the Cancer Hospital Affiliated to the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Xu Tian, Vice President of Westlake University; Cai Jiangnan, Executive Chairman of the Shanghai Chuangqi Health Development Research Institute; as well as leaders and expert representatives from the Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission, Provincial Big Data Bureau, Provincial Healthcare Security Administration, and Provincial Medical Products Administration.

as well as representatives from enterprises and the investment community, including Deloitte Consulting, Amazon, Tigermed, Alibaba, Dingxiang Yuan (DXY), WeDoctor, Zhiyun Health, Yidu Cloud, Zhejiang Private Equity Investment, and AstraZeneca CICC. Also present were representatives from typical regions in Zhejiang Province leading the digital reform of healthcare services. The conference brought together representatives from government, industry, academia, research, healthcare, and investment sectors to exchange insights on emerging industry trends, share new technologies in digital health, and jointly write a new chapter in industrial development.

The conference is dedicated to promoting the deep integration and innovative application of next-generation information technology with healthcare. It aims to transformatively reshape key sectors of the health industry—including medical services, health management, biopharmaceuticals, and medical devices—through “digital + intelligent” innovation, while expanding efficient, secure, and smart digital-intelligent ecosystems. By exploring digital health from multi-dimensional and comprehensive perspectives, the conference ensures broad coverage across various fields and in-depth research content, enabling participants to connect with greater value.

Hosted in Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City, one of the four major future sci-tech cities in China, this conference takes place in a core, demonstration, and leading zone of the Hangzhou West Science and Technology Innovation Corridor—a key initiative of Zhejiang Province. As a source of future technological innovation, a leader in future industries, and a model for future urban development, Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City has been intensifying its investments and strategic layout in emerging sectors such as the digital economy and life health. In August 2020, it prioritized the development of the Digital Health Town. Within one year of its opening, the town has attracted prestigious institutions and industry-leading R&D centers and headquarters enterprises, including the Zhang Boli Smart Health Laboratory, Zhuoxi Brain and Intelligence Institute, Zhijiang Laboratory’s Digital Health Achievement Transformation Base, and the Zhejiang Provincial Smart Healthcare Innovation Center. Aligning with the direction of future industries, the town has fostered a high-end industrial cluster in the digital economy and life health sectors, boasting strong international and regional capabilities in industry-academia collaboration and competition. It has established an ecological chain covering the entire lifecycle of digital health, from R&D, incubation, and acceleration to industrialization. Through this conference, enterprises across China are invited to participate in discussions via online and offline channels, helping to build a dedicated “private traffic” pool and professional community for the digital health industry within Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City. This initiative aims to efficiently enhance the city’s industry influence, accelerate the siphon effect, advance the construction of “Digital Zhejiang,” and support the development of the Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone.

The Spring Breeze of Digital Technology Finally Reaches Healthcare, Driving Its Deep-Rooted Implementation. As We Stand in the Golden Age of Digital Health Development, Only Through Collaborative Dialogue Among Stakeholders Across Government, Industry, Academia, Research, Clinical Practice, and Investment Can We Identify the Right Direction Amidst the Rapid Torrent of Technological Change.

You are cordially invited to participate.

Event Schedule: September 25, 2021, 9:00–17:30

Venue: Academic Exchange Center, Future Sci-Tech City, Hangzhou

Event Agenda: