Weifang Outpatient Chronic Disease Management Innovation Shows Initial Success with Nearly 10,000 Beneficiaries in Over 100 Days

Recently, Zhang Ningbo, Party Secretary and Director of the Shandong Provincial Healthcare Security AdministrationHeads of relevant departments, offices, and centersVisited the Outpatient Chronic Disease Service Center of the Medical Consortium at Weifang No. 2 People's Hospital for research. This center is the first pilot program for innovative outpatient chronic disease services in Weifang, established through a joint initiative by Weifang No. 2 People's Hospital, Weifang Weiyi Internet Hospital, and Shandong Internet Medical Insurance and Big Health Group’s Weifang Hospital.“Cloud Medical Consortium” established and put into operation 110Over the course of several days, it provided services—including chronic disease registration, online and offline follow-up consultations and medication purchases, settlement, and health management—to nearly 10,000 patient visits. Its convenient one-stop service model and effective end-to-end chronic disease management have been widely praised by patients and their families, with initial results demonstrating the success of these innovative services.

“Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Construction and Development of Medical Consortia” proposes exploring the establishment of a unified platform for drug bidding, procurement, and management within medical consortia, thereby forming mechanisms for prescription circulation, drug sharing, and distribution within these consortia. Weifang has organically integrated the construction of medical consortia with reforms in outpatient chronic disease management services to address pain points such as the inconvenience of registration and follow-up prescription refills for chronic disease patients, excessive pressure on hospital outpatient departments, and difficulties in chronic disease management.

In October last year, Weifang City issued the "Implementation Plan for Pilot Work on Innovative Outpatient Chronic Disease Management Services in Weifang City," launching pilot programs for innovative outpatient chronic disease management services at six hospitals as the first batch. This made it one of the first cities in the province to respond to the promotion of the "Internet + Medical Insurance + Healthcare + Pharmaceuticals" innovative chronic disease management model. It is understood that the Shandong Provincial Internet Medical Insurance and Health Big Data Service Platform pioneered the comprehensive guarantee service of "Internet + Medical Insurance + Healthcare + Pharmaceuticals" nationwide, which has been included in Shandong Province's 14th Five-Year Plan, new and old kinetic energy conversion projects, and internet innovation development project plans.

Taking innovative outpatient management of chronic major diseases as a breakthrough point, Weifang has promoted process reengineering reforms through the establishment of outpatient chronic disease service centers within medical consortia, providing chronic disease patients with services ranging fromRegistrationtoMedication Pickupone-stop services in dedicated zones, as well as health management, health education, and registration of chronic diseases under medical insurance; an online service zone has also been launched, achieving Continuous health management that integrates “online + offline” and “in-hospital + out-of-hospital” care helps patients reduce the incidence and progression of complications, enhance self-management awareness, thereby loweringSlowSexPatient healthcare costs, hospital service costsandSocial Healthcare Expenditure.

Accompanying the survey were Zhang Xinqiang, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Weifang Municipal People’s Congress; Ji Baowen, Deputy Director of the General Office of the Weifang Municipal People’s Government; and Chen Yan’ai, Party Secretary and Director of the Weifang Municipal Healthcare Security Administration. Director Zhang Ningbo carefully inquired about the center’s operations on-site and spoke highly of Weifang’s innovative services for outpatient chronic disease management, exemplified by the Outpatient Chronic Disease Service Center at Weifang No. 2 People’s Hospital.

On that day, Director Zhang Ningbo and his delegation also inspected the Weifang Hospital of Shandong Internet Medical Insurance and Big Health Group, accompanied by Li Ping, Deputy Mayor of Weifang City. Director Zhang Ningbo affirmed the hospital’sThe innovative service model of “brick-and-mortar hospitals + internet hospitals” should highlight the distinctive features of internet hospital services, encourage hospitals to continue exploring innovations, and provide patients with more convenient and high-quality “online + offline” medical and health services.

It is reported that, leveraging the Shandong Provincial Internet Medical Insurance and Health Service Platform, the Outpatient Chronic Disease Service Center of the Medical Consortium will further advance the “Three-Physician Co-Management” model involving specialists, general practitioners, and health managers. It will establish a three-tier coordinated mechanism for chronic disease management services and implement standardized management on a disease-specific basis. By providing whole-process and full-lifecycle management for patients with chronic diseases, the center aims to improve comprehensive evaluation mechanisms for treatment outcomes, reduce incidence rates, decrease medical insurance expenditures, enhance the efficiency of medical insurance fund utilization, and improve the public’s health status.