Two Sessions Spotlight: Promoting Standardized Development to Advance Internet Healthcare into a New Era

The 2021 Government Work Report proposed advancing the development of the healthcare system, continuously promoting the Healthy China Initiative, deeply implementing the Patriotic Health Campaign, supporting privately-run medical institutions, and fostering the standardized development of “Internet + Healthcare.”

This marks the third consecutive year that “Internet + Healthcare” has been featured in the Government Work Report. In 2019, the report proposed for the first time to “develop ‘Internet + Healthcare’ and accelerate the establishment of a telemedicine service system.” In 2020, it called for the “development of ‘Internet + Healthcare’.”

This year’s Government Work Report explicitly proposed for the first time to “promote standardized development.” This signifies that as internet-based healthcare transitions from its exploratory phase into a period of rapid growth, achieving high-quality industry development through “standardization” has become an essential imperative.

According to data from the National Health Commission, the number of internet hospitals in China had approached 900 by the end of October 2020. Spurred by the pandemic, the development of “Internet + Healthcare” was accelerated. In March last year, the Guidelines on Promoting “Internet+” Medical Insurance Services During the Prevention and Control of COVID-19, jointly issued by the National Healthcare Security Administration and the National Health Commission, explicitly stated that online follow-up services for common and chronic diseases provided by qualified internet medical institutions to insured individuals could be included in the coverage of the medical insurance fund in accordance with local regulations.

At the same time, the industry’s positioning has become clearer—just as “houses are for living in,” internet hospitals are “for providing medical care.” Especially as medical insurance gradually includes online consultations within its reimbursement scope, effective regulation is a necessary prerequisite for standardized industry development.

During this year’s Two Sessions, Sun Wei, a deputy to the National People’s Congress, proposed advancing online payment and settlement for medical insurance and including eligible fees for internet-based medical services within the scope of medical insurance coverage. Meanwhile, he emphasized implementing real-name registration for online medical consultations, establishing supporting mechanisms for online expense verification and supervision of medical service practices to prevent fabricated medical services and ensure the security of medical insurance funds. Ma Xiuzhen, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, pointed out that the healthcare industry is characterized by its specificity, complexity, and zero-tolerance for errors. Certain issues persist, such as inadequate management of overprescription in current self-regulatory processes of platforms like online prescription review systems.

“Internet + Healthcare” must not devolve into a tool for pharmaceutical sales by prioritizing drugs over medical care; instead, it should be guided by patient health indicators, ensuring that medication is prescribed based on medical necessity. This has become a consensus among many industry managers and experts.

Digital healthcare, aimed at improving patient outcomes and industry efficiency, has already demonstrated promising results. In Tai’an, Shandong Province, a digital chronic disease management model implemented through an internet hospital achieved China’s first city-level direct reimbursement via medical insurance. It also provides intelligent, end-to-end medical insurance supervision featuring “pre-event reminders, in-process controls, and post-event audits.” Within just over a year, the average prescription cost per chronic disease visit in the area decreased by 12.7%, medical insurance expenditures were reduced by more than 10%, and patients’ out-of-pocket expenses dropped by over 5%. While improving users’ health indicators, this approach has enabled both the government and the industry to reduce costs and enhance efficiency.

As can be seen, integrating health insurance under effective regulatory oversight not only allows patients to enjoy the health benefits brought by digital healthcare but also effectively prevents fraudulent activities such as over-treatment and fabrication of medical services for insurance claims. By prominently leveraging the medical attributes of “Internet + Healthcare,” we can better promote the healthy development of the industry and demonstrate the value of digital healthcare on a broader scale.

“We must strive to upgrade the ‘Medical Community’ into a ‘Health Community,’” stated Ge Minghua, a deputy to the National People’s Congress. He explained that building a “Community of Health Services” entails coordinating resources from all sectors to shift the focus of healthcare from “treatment-centered” to “health-centered.” This approach aims to establish an integrated health service model encompassing prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, thereby safeguarding public health comprehensively and throughout the entire life cycle.

The “Health Community” proposed by Representative Ge Minghua has already been implemented in practice. For instance, in Tianjin, the Tianjin WeDoctor Internet Hospital took the lead in collaborating with 267 primary healthcare institutions across the city to establish the Tianjin Primary Digital Health Community. This initiative achieved unified management, shared responsibility, shared benefits, and standardized services, providing users with end-to-end medical and health maintenance services. The “Health Community” has effectively promoted the reform of diagnosis-related group (DRG) payment under medical insurance and the implementation of a health-centered accountable care system, enabling every citizen to access preventive care for pre-disease conditions, diagnostic services for illnesses, treatment for minor ailments, referral for serious diseases, and management of chronic conditions at the primary care level.

During the fight against the epidemic, “Internet + Healthcare” has played a significant role. With changes in user and physician habits and the implementation of more supportive policies, this new business model has become an important component of the national healthcare system. In the new stage of “standardized development,” as governments, hospitals, and platforms join forces to highlight the health-oriented medical attributes, the industry’s healthy and sustainable development will further unlock the health dividends brought by technology.