JD Health Unveils Strategic Vision for Internet Healthcare Ecosystem at Annual Conference

In the development of internet healthcare, tech giants have always served as bellwethers.

For large tech companies with abundant resources, the pitfalls they have encountered, the experience they have gained, and the unique development paths they have forged while piloting internet healthcare initiatives and establishing internet hospitals are often among the topics of greatest interest to practitioners in the internet healthcare industry.

The gradual breakthrough in healthcare informatization, which began in 2000, established online connections between doctors and patients, expanded from PCs to mobile devices, and extended from online to offline services. Clearly, internet healthcare aims to go far beyond lightweight consultations.

Since the issuance of the first license for an internet hospital, and further accelerated by public hospitals’ entry into this space during the pandemic, the advantages of internet healthcare have gradually gained public acceptance and recognition. Today, with the continuous improvement of the top-level design for “Internet + Healthcare” and a rapidly growing patient population utilizing online consultations, internet healthcare clearly holds significant promise for development.

The question is, how to build and expand one's own internet hospital model?

JD Health CEO Xin Lijun

As an early mover in the internet healthcare sector, JD Health has undoubtedly set a strong benchmark. At the “First Anniversary of JD Family Doctor and Launch Event for JD Health’s Internet Medical Service Ecosystem Strategy” held on August 18, JD Health provided outsiders with key insights into how it has structured its own internet hospital model.

From obtaining the internet hospital license in 2017, to launching the first specialized cardiac center in 2019, and then introducing JD Family Doctor in 2020,How Is JD Health Strategizing Its Layout for Internet Healthcare?How does JD Health’s strategic positioning—as a digital-driven health management platform covering the full user lifecycle and all scenarios, with supply chain as its core and medical services as its key lever—shape its internet hospital development model?

This press conference provided us with answers, enabling us to analyze how an internet company builds its healthcare layout from a timeline perspective.

In December 2017, JD Health took a step that now appears highly pivotal by launching its internet hospital and formally commencing online medical consultation services.

Underpinning these initiatives is JD Health’s foundational strength: the connectivity of tens of thousands of healthcare professionals. As one of the first platform-based internet hospitals in China to obtain an internet hospital license, JD Health had more than 110,000 registered physicians as of December 31, 2020.

After addressing the issue of physician resource supply, the next consideration is user acquisition. JD Health, backed by JD.com, already possesses a large base of high-quality users with health and medical needs. The high-quality services provided by JD Health have further facilitated user conversion and engagement. The outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 propelled internet healthcare platforms into unprecedented growth, driving a further increase in JD Health’s consultation volumes: year-end data showed that the average daily number of online consultations on JD Health exceeded 100,000 in 2020.

Accelerated by the pandemic, the demand for digitalization has intensified among offline hospitals, physicians, and patients alike. Leveraging its technological capabilities, JD Health has continuously enhanced the efficiency of physician services. Furthermore, by optimizing the allocation of medical resources, JD Health enables its users to access high-quality medical care that is better tailored to their needs.

JD Health is clearly aiming to do more than simply connect patients with doctors; it is pursuing the “harder yet right” path—building a health management platform that covers users’ entire life cycles and all scenarios.

As early as 2016, JD Health had already ventured into the pharmaceutical retail sector. At that time, there was a view within the company that “the best approach for JD to develop its health business is to continue expanding pharmaceutical retail, and then provide additional health services on this basis.” However, senior executives with more strategic foresight clearly did not intend to stop there.

We may gain some insights from JD Health’s own strategic positioning: to build a digital-driven health management platform that covers the entire user lifecycle and all scenarios, with the supply chain as its core and medical services as its key lever.JD Health, with a clear understanding of its own strengths, aims to leverage its superior supply chain resources and use medical services as a strategic entry point to build a truly comprehensive health management platform covering the entire lifecycle for its users.

Among these, medical services are undoubtedly a critical factor that cannot be overlooked. By emphasizing medical services, JD Health has chosen to break through via specialized disease centers. Its initial focus on cardiology centers—targeting the “heart” quite literally—demonstrates JD Health’s determination to tackle the most challenging issues and do what is difficult yet right.

In December 2019, JD Health launched its Heart Center. At the time, Xin Lijun, CEO of JD Health, stated, “With the establishment of the Heart Center as a starting point, JD Health will promote the connectivity and integration of more core medical resources in the future. Centered on users, we will provide integrated online-to-offline medical services across additional specialized disease and specialty areas.”

Xiao Jianbo, General Manager of JD Health’s Internet Medical Division, Introduces the Service Capabilities of JD Health Specialty Centers

Today, JD Health has established 25 specialized centers, including the Heart Center, Otolaryngology Center, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, and Respiratory Center. It has also onboarded nearly 100 authoritative experts and top-tier renowned physicians, such as Academician Han Demin, Professor Hu Dayi, Professor Gao Sihua, and Professor Lin Jiangtao. The development of these specialized centers further ensures the enhancement of JD Health Internet Hospital’s specialized service capabilities.

While users can access high-quality medical services, how can we better connect them with premium healthcare resources to achieve rational resource allocation? Furthermore, how can the daily health management needs of users be met in relation to their medical demands? This question may have found its answer with the emergence of JD Health’s home physician service.

Launched in August 2020, JD Family Doctor provides comprehensive and standardized integrated disease and health management services. The significance of launching JD Family Doctor may be as stated earlier:On the one hand, it further implements health management, expanding the service scope from the original medical-oriented approach to a comprehensive health-medical model. On the other hand, family doctors inherently provide general practice services; as JD Family Doctor gradually becomes the primary service entry point, it fulfills the role of delivering general medical care and facilitating referrals to specialists based on patient stratification.While empowering users to achieve health management, it also provides a link for users to access precise specialized medical services.

In this regard, JD Health’s exploration and development of its internet medical service model have largely taken shape. The subsequent continuous advancement in building specialized centers can be viewed as fulfilling the demand for enhanced specialized service capabilities.

From online consultations to specialty centers, and then to JD Family Doctor, what we see is merely the superficial, isolated “tip of the iceberg.” Beneath this “iceberg,” however, lies a tightly integrated network.

As previously mentioned, JD Health recognized early on that its core advantage lies in its supply chain, while internet healthcare plays an “infrastructure” role within JD Health’s business.

As JD Health continues to build and develop its own internet hospital infrastructure, the opportunities for it to leverage these platforms for connectivity, empowerment, and operational effectiveness are steadily increasing.

First, JD Health has built a relatively rich content ecosystem.

With a vast roster of authoritative medical specialists and the establishment of numerous specialized centers, JD Health is also disseminating health and medical science education to users. At the inauguration of the Heart Center, Xin Lijun stated that the 3.0 phase of internet healthcare requires more valuable connectivity and integration, one aspect of which is “building a comprehensive health management system spanning science popularization, prevention, treatment, medication, and rehabilitation.”

Compared with other internet companies that originated from search engines, their health science popularization content is more accessible to the public, while JD Health’s professional medical science popularization content is relatively less conspicuous. However, for JD Health users, this content has long become an integral part of its services: whether on JD Internet Hospital or other video accounts, JD Health is engaged in a more public-welfare-oriented endeavor—leveraging the voices of authoritative experts to eliminate harmful “science popularization” content disseminated by marketing-driven accounts and help establish correct medical concepts.

During the pandemic, JD Health launched a live-streaming series featuring renowned physicians. Since the inaugural broadcast in January 2020, cumulative viewership had exceeded 50 million by June 2021, with peak concurrent viewers on a single platform surpassing 1.96 million for an individual session. More targeted content, such as department-specific health encyclopedias and disease-related health assessments, is integrated into various stages of the user journey, including online consultations and medication purchases. This content ecosystem not only provides convenience to users but also helps sustain user engagement.

Secondly, JD Health’s specialized medical service capabilities empower its business segments.

JD Health’s business is primarily divided into two major segments: retail pharmacy operations and online medical and healthcare services. In its effort to build a health management platform covering the entire user lifecycle, JD Health’s service offerings create synergies with other business units. Whether it involves health education books and health monitoring wearables needed during the healthy phase, prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and smart monitoring devices required during the illness phase, or nutritional health products and follow-up checkup services necessary during the recovery phase, the medical services segment delivers significant value. Serving as an entry point, medical services empower JD Health’s other physical product businesses, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, health supplements and tonics, and consumer healthcare.

In this process, JD Health is also enhancing its specialized service capabilities, thereby facilitating the formation of a closed-loop business ecosystem. For instance, users with undiagnosed tumors may require a range of services, including early cancer screening, appointment scheduling for examinations and tests, interpretation of test reports, expedited access to offline hospitals (green channel), provision of novel and specialty oncology medications online, and chronic disease management following tumor surgery. JD Health is capable of providing these services in a one-stop manner.

andThe expansion of JD Family Doctor services, launched last year, over the past year has also benefited from JD Health’s specialized service capabilities.：

First, the development of tailored versions for different demographic groups is closely linked to the enhancement of specialty capabilities within internet hospitals. For instance, this includes products designed for specific age groups such as the elderly and children, as well as those targeting different disease categories like chronic diseases, postpartum rehabilitation, and neurological health. Launching more targeted products in various niche segments is intrinsically tied to the establishment and robust strength of specialized medical centers.

JD Family Doctor Product Matrix Showcase

Secondly, the “JD Family Doctor” service is embedded as a standard module into smart medical wearable devices such as smart speakers and smart wristbands, achieving the integration of the “JD Family Doctor” product with smart healthcare products. Users can seamlessly experience the health management services provided by “JD Family Doctor” during use.

Furthermore, JD Health is extending its JD Family Doctor service capabilities to the health insurance sector. In May this year, JD Health partnered with Fosun United Health, JD Allianz Insurance, and other insurers to jointly launch “Family Care Insurance,” a managed-care health insurance product. Centered on disease prevention and health improvement, it integrates health insurance with JD Health’s medical services and health management expertise, providing families with a one-stop, lifelong medical healthcare service and health protection solution.

As a supplement to the primary-care family doctor service system, “JD Family Doctor” has also entered into a strategic partnership with the People’s Government of Haizhu District, Guangzhou, to create the “Healthy Haizhu” model for “Internet + Family Doctor” services.

In fact, the empowerment of both JD Health’s various physical business segments and its JD Family Doctor services is attributable to its specialized service capabilities in internet hospitals.

It is worth noting that JD Health’s specialized service capabilities actually depend on supply-side resources—namely, physicians. Maintaining physician stickiness, encouraging them to use the platform, and enabling them to leverage it effectively are among the key concerns for JD Health in building its internet hospital. JD Health is continuously expanding its capabilities to serve physicians:

① Provide a safe practice environment for physicians.For both the platform and physicians, clear delineation of responsibilities and effective personal risk mitigation are fundamental to a physician’s willingness to practice on an internet hospital. JD Health safeguards physicians’ personal information through robust data security measures, while mitigating risks associated with online consultations via procedural risk controls during telemedicine sessions and the procurement of medical liability insurance. By building this “infrastructure,” JD Health ensures transparent and compliant income for physicians. Standardized operations enable physicians to practice on the JD Health Internet Hospital with confidence and security.

② Precise Patient Matching.In the past, some platforms exhibited issues such as matching oncologists with patients suffering from gynecological diseases, where inaccurate matching prevented physicians from delivering their full professional value. Backed by JD.com, JD Health benefits from a robust user base: JD.com reported 499.8 million users in the first quarter of 2021, while JD Health had reached 89.8 million active users by the end of 2020, further securing its user acquisition channels. By leveraging artificial intelligence and other technologies, along with specialized operational strategies, JD Health further refines patient needs, physicians’ areas of expertise, and treatment preferences, thereby enabling more precise doctor–patient matching.

③ Full-category supply chain support.Within the healthcare service delivery system, a robust supply chain enhances service accessibility. JD Health possesses a strong pharmaceutical supply chain and continues to expand its network for specialty and novel drugs, further strengthening its core capabilities and improving user experience. Meanwhile, JD Health is enhancing the user experience across multiple dimensions, including follow-up consultations and prescription renewals, product selection, and distribution logistics.

④ Digital and Intelligent Patient Management Tools.Online, physicians typically need to manage a larger patient volume than in offline settings. Appropriate and accessible patient management tools can better serve physicians, helping them improve quality and efficiency. JD Health provides licensed physicians with digital and intelligent management tools, such as follow-up plans, disease scales, and patient education articles, to support their scientific research and enhance their professional reputation. Additionally, JD Health has established a clearly stratified triage system for specialists through services like JD Family Doctor and AI assistants, which alleviates physicians’ workload while enabling more effective patient management.

A Multi-Dimensional Operational Plan Featuring Services, Support, and Incentives for Online Practicing Physicians

⑤ Personalized physician support services.Beyond universal needs, physicians of different categories often have distinct demands: for instance, leading experts may seek to disseminate their academic ideas and translate research achievements into practical applications; mid-career and young physicians aim to enhance patient management and elevate their academic proficiency; while newly onboarded junior physicians may need to learn how to effectively utilize patient management tools. JD Health provides targeted incentive mechanisms aligned with these diverse physician needs to support their professional growth. Furthermore, JD Health has established online cloud consulting rooms for physicians, offering comprehensive operational support across all scenarios.

Whether empowering internal business units or external physicians, JD Health’s Internet Hospital relies on its inherent capabilities. The expansion of these capabilities further integrates external physicians and supply chain resources into the JD Health ecosystem, fostering a virtuous cycle for the entire ecosystem.

JD Health is demonstrating a positive development trend. Specifically, this can be broadly attributed to its highly precise and clear strategic positioning from the outset, as well as the development of its own unique internet hospital model.

JD Health leverages its robust supply chain to deliver comprehensive, high-quality services, including a full range of medical and health products, first-to-market launches of innovative new drugs, customized health solutions, and precision delivery. Its offerings primarily cover high-quality pharmaceutical and health products such as over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, prescription drugs, medical devices, and nutritional supplements, thereby meeting users’ diverse healthcare needs.

andWithin JD Health’s overall business, medical services serve as a key entry point and strategic lever. Although online healthcare services currently account for a relatively small proportion of total revenue, this segment remains an integral and inseparable component.

JD Health has also recognized its inherent strengths by building an internet hospital to connect doctors and patients, and further implementing patient management services that cover both specialty and general care, as well as medical and health services, through its specialty centers and JD Family Doctor services. Like a snowball effect, JD Health continues to expand its user base while simultaneously creating more opportunities for its supply chain business.

At last year’s JD Health Partner Conference, Xin Lijun, CEO of JD Health, stated, “Our next step is to strengthen omni-channel development to meet consumers’ health needs anytime, anywhere, and on their own terms.” A precise grasp of its core strengths, sustained competitive advantages, and further leveraging of these strengths through its internet hospital have contributed to JD Health’s current strong market position.

For internet healthcare platforms that lack a clear understanding of their own advantages in the medical field, most are still groping their way forward, constantly adjusting their strategic direction. In this process, whether they can ultimately find their own internet healthcare model may not be solely a matter of time.

Leveraging its strategic positioning, JD Health integrates internal and external resources through its internet hospital and ultimately achieves steady platform growth by empowering its business operations, thereby creating a synergistic effect where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.By integrating and empowering resources across its various business segments, JD Health Internet Hospital has also reciprocally driven their development. Ultimately, this aligns with JD Health’s original strategic positioning: advancing toward a digital-driven health management platform that covers the entire user lifecycle and all scenarios, with supply chain as the core and medical services as the key lever.

As Xin Lijun, CEO of JD Health, stated at the conference, ““In the era of digital health, medical services are shifting from a ‘disease-centered’ approach to a ‘people’s health-centered’ one. JD Health will integrate technological and medical service capabilities to better support physicians in their online practice and create greater value for users and patients.”