"Contactless" Healthcare Services Surge in Guangdong: WeDoctor Reports 55% Increase and Launches Dedicated Anti-Epidemic Zone

Guangdong's Epidemic Resurgence Raises Concerns,“Non-contact” Services Draw Renewed Attention. Data from the WeDoctor platform shows a significant surge in service demand in Guangdong province in recent days, with user consultations increasing by 55% week-on-week over the five-day period from May 31 to June 4. In response, on June 5, Guangzhou WeDoctor Internet Hospital and Guangzhou Tianhe WeDoctor Internet Hospital, both under WeDoctor, jointly launched the “Medical Care Guardian” Guangdong Anti-Epidemic Zone. The zone rapidly introduced services including free online consultations, medical insurance-covered follow-up visits, psychological support for examinees, nucleic acid testing appointments, specialized outpatient clinics, and expert-led health education, enabling Guangdong residents to access professional, convenient, and “non-contact” medical and health services from home.

According to information released by the National Health Commission on the 5th, from 00:00 to 24:00 on the 4th, 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported 24 newly confirmed cases and 28 new asymptomatic infections. Among them, all 11 newly added local confirmed cases and 3 newly added local asymptomatic infections were in Guangdong.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese government has supported and encouraged “contactless” internet-based medical services, and the public has gradually adapted to and embraced the convenience offered by digital healthcare. In response to epidemic prevention and control measures, residents of Guangdong Province with healthcare needs can follow the WeChat official account “Guangzhou Tianhe WeDoctor Internet Hospital,” click on “Internet Hospital,” and select “Anti-Epidemic Free Clinic” to access a dedicated zone offering online consultations, insurance-covered follow-up visits, psychological counseling for examinees, and other services.

Among these initiatives, physicians across China—including 12,000 doctors from Guangdong Province—provide free online consultation services, ensuring that user inquiries are responded to within three minutes. Patients in Guangzhou diagnosed with any of the 25 Category I special outpatient conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, can conduct follow-up consultations with physicians via the “Online Medical Insurance Follow-up Visit” service. Their prescribed medications are delivered directly to their homes, and they enjoy reimbursement rates equivalent to those of primary care hospitals. For students preparing for the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) and the Senior High School Entrance Examination (Zhongkao), a dedicated section brings together more than 3,000 psychological experts nationwide to provide mental health support before and after the exams.

Ms. Huang, a 75-year-old resident of Baiyun District in Guangzhou, has hypertension and typically requires a combination of two medications to control her blood pressure, necessitating periodic hospital visits for follow-up consultations and prescription refills. “With the current pandemic situation in Guangzhou, it is advisable to minimize outings. Using a mobile phone for follow-up consultations and prescription refills is extremely convenient, and medical insurance can be used for payment.” It is understood that the newly launched medical insurance-covered follow-up consultation service within the dedicated zone primarily targets patients with chronic diseases who have clear diagnoses and stable conditions, such as Ms. Huang. This service saves patients time spent on registration, queuing, and medication pickup, while also reducing the risk of cross-infection associated with in-person medical visits.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, WeDoctor provided online consultation, psychological support, online follow-up visits, medical insurance-covered medication services, and public health education on epidemic prevention to users across China, particularly in hard-hit areas such as Wuhan and Huanggang. As of June 1, the platform had accumulated over 180 million visits and delivered more than 2.3 million free consultations, emerging as a “virtual frontline force” in epidemic control efforts.

In addition, WeDoctor’s internet hospitals in Tai’an, Wuhan, Jinan, Tianjin, Guangzhou, and other cities have successively launched online medical insurance payment services, effectively alleviating the pressure on offline outpatient visits. Notably, during the peak of the pandemic, it fulfilled 97% of the online follow-up consultation and medication purchase needs for patients with severe chronic conditions in Wuhan. Last September, the Guangzhou Tianhe WeDoctor Internet Hospital also launched online medical insurance-covered follow-up consultation services for patients with chronic diseases.

A WeDoctor representative stated that, leveraging the company’s extensive experience in online pandemic response and its nationwide integrated online-to-offline (O2O) service network, WeDoctor will continue to enhance the development of dedicated service zones, provide more convenient and affordable services, and better meet the healthcare needs of residents in Guangdong Province and even the Greater Bay Area.