Shi Doctor Files IPO Prospectus, Aiming to Become China's Leading Surgical Follow-up Management Platform

Dr. Shi, who is dedicated to promoting follow-up care for surgical diseases, has recently experienced a string of good news. On one hand,The Company Has Officially Obtained the Internet Hospital License, while continuing to increase investment in the service system; on the other hand,The enterprise platform has completed its upgrade., the latest version has just gone live, marking a new level in overall service.

Good things take time. What exactly is the landscape of the surgical follow-up management sector? Why did Dr. Shi choose to focus his efforts on this innovative field? Has his success model been proven viable? To address these questions, VCBeat conducted an exclusive interview with Dr. Shi’s founding team, aiming to use this as a starting point to unravel the underlying development logic of industry “pioneers.”

Common diseases in urology mainly include urinary stones, male disorders, and tumors of the urinary system. Among these, patients hospitalized for urinary stones rank first in urology departments. In terms of treatment, minimally invasive or non-invasive techniques are quite mature; however, their high recurrence rate remains a significant concern for both physicians and patients.

According to the latest statistical data, the 5- to 10-year recurrence rate of urinary calculi in China exceeds 80%.. In addition, the incidence of prostate cancer has been increasing year by year, currently ranking as the sixth most common malignancy among men. Meanwhile, due to the long survival period associated with prostate cancer, there are currently approximately 1.2 million prevalent cases in China.These patients have a strong need to establish postoperative communication with their healthcare providers, seeking attention and care.

Therefore, strengthening postoperative interventions for urology patients and establishing long-term follow-up mechanisms are crucial to slowing disease progression and improving quality of life. Long before this promising and mission-driven trend gained momentum, Dr. Shi was already at the forefront.

Like the vast majority of innovative enterprises, Dr. Shi was born out of the founding team’s passion for and deep commitment to the field of urology.

Dong Zeqiu, Founder and General Manager

FounderDong ZeqiuThe General Manager has many years of experience in pharmaceutical sales within urology, possesses a clear and in-depth understanding of the urological field, and is well-versed in the operational dynamics of the healthcare industry.

In his view, the primary reason for the lack of follow-up in surgical diseases is that surgeons are burdened with exceptionally heavy workloads, making it difficult for them to devote time and energy to postoperative patient management. Even when physicians are willing and able, they face a lack of support from patient data management networks and online communication platforms, resulting in ineffective linkage between in-hospital diagnosis and treatment and out-of-hospital management.

This presents both a challenge and an opportunity. As the “Internet + Healthcare” ecosystem continues to mature, existing barriers are being dismantled one by one, and new service models are increasingly permeating various sectors of healthcare. Along this trajectory, urology—a specialty with substantial patient demand—has undergone transformative changes. Amidst this revolution, Dr. Shi has undoubtedly emerged as a leading pioneer.

Dr. Shi is an innovative internet healthcare company on a mission to promote follow-up care for surgical conditions. Leveraging internet-based information technologies, it constructs a closed-loop service ecosystem integrating online and offline offerings within this vertical sector. By combining the clinical knowledge and accumulated experience of physicians, Dr. Shi tailors its solutions to meet the distinct needs of various stakeholders, including hospitals, healthcare professionals, and patients.“Dr. Shi Surgical Intelligent Follow-up System”, “Dr. Shi Internet Hospital”, “Dr. Shi APP”as well as products and platforms such as official accounts and mini-programs, providing services for surgeons and patientsDisease Follow-up, Online Consultation, Comprehensive Medication Management, Doctor-Patient Communication, Health Education, Health Monitoring, and Data Applicationand other services.

Specifically, how has Dr. Shi structured his business operations?

First, leverage digital platforms to shift follow-up management toward a patient-centric approach.“Dr. Shi” is China’s first urology follow-up management platform, primarily designed to assist physicians in managing databases, facilitating patient education and disease follow-up, and effectively improving the efficiency of patient management.

In addition, to enhance physician stickiness to the platform, Shi Yisheng has equipped medical professionals with follow-up assistants who can help physicians conduct postoperative condition tracking and follow-ups, as well as provide patient education services. This not only improves service efficiency but also further enhances the quality of medical care.

Li Lian, Technical Director at Shi Doctor, told VCBeat, “Unlike other internet healthcare platforms, Shi Doctor not only builds an online service system but also emphasizes strong integration with offline services. To better support the implementation of these services, Shi Doctor has specifically assigned operational specialists to assist physicians in delivering care, thereby enhancing physicians’ proactivity.”

Second, build a comprehensive closed-loop service centered on patient needs.Dr. Shi Urology Internet Hospital offers a comprehensive range of services, primarily encompassing four core segments: online consultations, follow-up care, prescription circulation, and appointment scheduling. It provides patients with high-value, highly accessible, holistic solutions for the follow-up and repeat visits of urological conditions. Reportedly, Dr. Shi has currently contracted 600 urology specialists across China, including as many as 360 in Shanghai, thereby achieving basic coverage of all major hospitals in Shanghai.

Dr. Shi, Technical Director Li Lian, stated, “Follow-up care has its unique characteristics. Not every doctor in a hospital needs to conduct follow-ups; a urology department can effectively carry out follow-up care with just two or three physicians. Although the number of contracted physicians is not large, the patient volume covered is already substantial. Furthermore, unlike offline ‘one-on-one’ consultations, online medical services can be conducted simultaneously. Coupled with an intelligent follow-up management system, this significantly enhances service efficiency, thereby expanding the scope of patients that physicians can serve to a certain extent.”

Third, “Dr. Shi’s Specialty Pharmacy” provides pharmaceutical companies with customized precision marketing services.Shi Yisheng aggregates diverse physician-patient data, including behavioral and interaction information from both physicians and patients, and leverages algorithms to build comprehensive user profiles. This approach not only assists pharmaceutical companies in the digital promotion of prescription drugs but also provides tangible convenience for patients purchasing medications. To date, Shi Yisheng has partnered with multiple pharmaceutical enterprises, including Nanjing Tongrentang Pharmaceutical, Shandong Luoxin Pharmaceutical, Wuhan Weiao Pharmaceutical, and Lee’s Pharmaceutical (Hong Kong). By curating the latest and most effective pharmaceutical products globally, it aims to provide patients with optimal treatment solutions.

Overall, Dr. Shi has effectively addressed the multifaceted needs of physicians, patients, and enterprises by continuously enhancing follow-up services through a systematic operational model and an efficient data platform.

Although Dr. Stone has only been in trial operation for three years in the field of urinary stones, it has performed remarkably well in the innovative sector of urological follow-up services.On one hand, in terms of the number of registered users, according to the latest data, Dr. Shi currently has officially surpassed the milestone of 30,000 registered users, representing a year-on-year increase of 167%.

On the revenue front, Dr. Shi’s actual revenue in 2020 amounted to RMB 4.3 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 53.6%.In the future, expanding from urinary stones to the entire field of urology, the business will experience rapid growth.

These achievements are no accident; rather, they stem from the corporate “moat” that Dr. Shi has gradually built through sustained efforts. According to Li Lian, Dr. Shi has developed three key advantages to date:First, the core team members possess in-depth knowledge of the industry.Dr. Shi’s founding team is composed of experts in the medical field, who possess profound insights and unique perspectives on both the technology and healthcare industries. Their experience in innovating service models and managing corporate operations will provide a continuous driving force for the company’s development.

Second, strong doctor-patient stickiness, with a high-value specialty full-course follow-up database.Unlike anonymous consultation mechanisms, the Dr. Shi platform leverages the profound trust established during surgical care—where patients entrust their lives to surgeons—to implement officially authorized hospital and physician-led doctor-patient communication and follow-up management, resulting in exceptionally high doctor-patient engagement.

Third, deeply integrate patients, physicians, and pharmaceuticals to build a closed-loop online-to-offline service ecosystem in the vertical healthcare sector.Starting with urology follow-up care, Dr. Shi has anchored his efforts in specialized medical and pharmaceutical services, leveraging a data-driven platform to deeply connect patients, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies, thereby establishing a comprehensive service ecosystem for all three stakeholders.

Dr. Shi also has his own perspectives on the future.First, focusing on short-term objectives, the company will concentrate on expanding its business scope by replicating its operational model to establish a broad presence in key regions such as Beijing, Shandong, and Sichuan. Second, anchored in long-term strategy, the company will continuously enhance its service capabilities through internal refinement, thereby extending its business boundaries into other surgical specialties with strong demand for follow-up care, building upon its foundation in urology, to comprehensively create a service ecosystem within the surgical field.

The goals are clearly defined, but their realization hinges on strengthening and supplementing multiple aspects. Li Lian told VCBeat, “For Dr. Shi, the most pressing need is a continuous influx of specialized talent, which is crucial for the company’s ongoing external expansion. Additionally, capital injection is a significant requirement at this stage; it will not only better support the rapid advancement of various business segments but also foster synergistic collaborations with investment institutions to jointly drive the company’s continued growth.”

Over the past three years of refinement and experience, Dr. Shi has pioneered a successful service model in urology follow-up management, delivering significant convenience to patients, physicians, and enterprises alike. Yet this is not the endgame. Looking ahead, Dr. Shi sees greater potential in the follow-up care domain and plans to extend its reach into other medical specialties with high-demand needs through “model replication,” thereby building a comprehensive service ecosystem for surgical care and making follow-up management an integral component of the healthcare delivery system.