Second Healthy China Innovation Communication Conference and Seventh China Medical Branding Summit Convenes in Boao, Hainan

On September 24, the Second Healthy China Innovative Communication Conference and the Seventh China Medical Brand Construction Conference opened at the main venue of the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan. The event was guided by the Department of Publicity of the National Health Commission, the Bureau of Online Commentary Work of the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the Health Commission of Hainan Province. It was hosted by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, the China Association for the Promotion of Health Ideological and Political Work, the Health Communication Working Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, the China Internet Development Foundation, the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, and the Administrative Bureau of Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone. Held under the new normal of epidemic prevention and control, this conference served as a prestigious gathering in the fields of health communication and medical brand building. Participants from medical institutions and media platforms across China, including heroes of the fight against the epidemic and leading industry experts, exchanged views on key topics such as medical brand construction in the 5G era, health communication and health promotion in the post-pandemic era, improving the public health prevention and control system, and enhancing national health literacy through health communication.

Li Lanjuan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Boao Super Hospital; Ma Li, Chairman of the China Internet Development Foundation; Hou Yunhao, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Online Comments under the Cyberspace Administration of China; Yang Jianli, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Directly Affiliated Organs and Deputy Director-General of the Department of Personnel under the National Health Commission (NHC); Jiao Yahui, Inspector Commissioner of the Bureau of Medical Administration and Hospital Management under the NHC; Zhou Changqiang, Director of the Hainan Provincial Health Commission; Dong Guanpeng, Dean of the School of Government and Public Affairs at Communication University of China and news release expert for the Central Guidance Group dispatched to Hubei; Gao Jianlin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Vice President of Nantong University, and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University; Peng Feng, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Internet Development Foundation; Zhang Jian, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Association for the Promotion of Ideological and Political Work in Health; along with other leaders and experts. Also in attendance were heads of relevant departments and divisions under the NHC, publicity officials from health commissions of various provinces and municipalities across China, key publicity personnel from numerous large public hospitals and primary healthcare institutions, health-focused self-media creators and “internet influencers,” as well as journalists from major news media outlets, totaling more than 1,500 participants. The opening ceremony was presided over by Liu Zhefeng, Deputy Director of the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone Administration and Executive Vice Chairman of the Health Communication Working Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

Held in the aftermath of major strategic achievements in the fight against the pandemic, this conference, themed “Health Communication • Brand Empowerment,” invited over 100 leading experts in health promotion and communication, renowned media professionals, and heads of public hospital communications to engage in in-depth discussions on hot topics such as Party-building work during pandemic prevention and control, health communication, and hospital and physician brand building in the 5G era.

Academician Li Lanjuan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering delivered a keynote speech titled “China’s Fight Against the Epidemic and the Spirit of China’s Anti-Epidemic Efforts.” Jiao Yahui, Inspector Commissioner of the Bureau of Medical Administration and Hospital Management under the National Health Commission, delivered a keynote speech titled “On the Construction of China’s Public Health Emergency System.” Yang Jianli, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee Directly Under the National Health Commission and Deputy Director of the Department of Personnel, discussed the construction of hospital cultural brands in the new era under the guidance of Party building.

In addition to the main forum, the conference featured specialized forums including the Party Secretaries and Hospital Directors Forum, the Health Communication Innovation in the 5G Era Forum, the Hospital Branding Forum, the Physician Branding Forum, and four sub-forums on medical brand development. Through sub-forums and roundtable dialogues, participants shared insights and exchanged views on topics such as innovative communication for Healthy China, health promotion in the post-pandemic era, and hospital culture and brand building. Notably, at the Party Secretaries and Hospital Directors Forum, Zhang Wei, Party Secretary of West China Hospital; Liu Qingquan, Deputy Party Secretary and Director of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University; Wu Jing, Party Secretary of Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Zhang Xin, Party Secretary of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University; Gong Shouping, Party Secretary of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University; Ye Yongan, Party Secretary of Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine; Yang Dungan, Director of Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Hospital and Vice President of Peking Union Medical College Hospital; Hou Jianquan, Party Secretary and Director of Dushu Lake Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University; Zhai Lixiang, Party Secretary of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine; and Gao Jianlin, Party Secretary of the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, discussed party-building efforts during the fight against the pandemic.

The conference also established several specialized groups: a Physician Branding Group, co-founded by Professor Tan Xianjie of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital; a University Group, co-founded by Professor Xu Jing, doctoral supervisor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Peking University; a Cultural Group, co-founded by Zhang Hongping, Director of the Media and Information Management Division at the Population Culture Development Center of the National Health Commission, and Ma Su, China’s first post-1980s actress to win both the Feitian Award and the Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress; and an Emergency First-Aid Science Popularization Group, co-founded by Jia Dacheng, Advisor to the Health Communication Working Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, and Hai Xia, news anchor for CCTV News under China Media Group.

In addition, the conference featured a special segment titled “Salute to the Brave Frontline Heroes: Promoting Healthy China,” which included the inaugural launch of two anti-pandemic books, The Most Beautiful Angels in Reverse and Best Practices in Health Communication and Public Opinion Guidance During Major Public Health Emergencies. It also kicked off the Second National Gold Medal Lecturer Competition in Health Communication and the 2020 Butterfly Academy Brand Intensive Training Camp, and conferred plaques upon the Butterfly Academy Practical Training Base and its member organizations under the Health Communication Working Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers across China donned their white coats as armor and marched bravely into the fray, risking their lives without fear. They fully demonstrated the Chinese spirit, Chinese strength, and Chinese responsibility, forging the great anti-pandemic spirit characterized by putting life first, national unity, selfless sacrifice, respect for science, and a shared destiny.

At the outset of the outbreak, the Health Communication Working Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association took the lead in rapidly establishing the “Emergency Health Communication Task Force for Epidemic Control.” Centering on science-based rumor refutation, public opinion guidance, image communication, and grassroots guidance, the committee innovatively adopted a “cloud-based model.” A total of 281 volunteers collaborated for 69 days to build the earliest all-media platform for epidemic control across the entire internet, providing robust information dissemination and service support for nationwide pandemic prevention and control efforts. This initiative truly realized the integration of online resources through a single webpage and actively explored a path toward deep convergence among platforms.

The Emergency Response Team has debunked more than 520 rumors, accumulating a total of 690 million visits. During the epidemic prevention and control period, team members produced over 11,500 original popular science articles, achieving a cumulative dissemination volume exceeding 12 billion. In collaboration with platforms such as Kuaishou, the team published 8,126 videos covering frontline anti-epidemic efforts, authoritative rumor refutation, and preventive health education, while live-streamed popular science sessions reached an audience of 17.7 billion person-times. The team submitted 60 policy advisory reports totaling 160,000 words, along with 50 key recommendations, to higher authorities. It was praised by the Publicity Department of the National Health Commission as a model for health communication during public health emergencies in the era of media convergence.

At this conference, the Doctor Brand Study Group, established under the Health Communication Working Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, officially launched the “Thousand Quests for Branded Doctors” initiative. Guided by an expert advisory panel including Professor Zhang Wenhong, Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, the initiative is committed to the mission of “promoting health and empowering brands.” It brings together physicians, nurses, public health and disease control professionals, dietitians, and other individuals with significant brand influence. By leveraging new media platforms such as WeChat official accounts, short videos, and live streaming, the initiative aims to harness the collective power of “sparks” to guide public opinion in the right direction, foster a harmonious healthcare environment, amplify the voice of “high-quality health communication,” and support the Healthy China strategy.

The “Technology-Empowered Communication Initiative” was officially launched by the Health Communication Working Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association in partnership with Haici Technology, unveiling the official platform for technology-driven communication operations, “DieDai.” The initiative aims to leverage big data and AI technologies to enhance healthcare institutions’ health communication capabilities, improve the efficiency of publicity professionals, and raise the health literacy of the general public. As a connector, “DieDai” will provide enhanced technical service support and strengthen information sharing and deep integration between the Health Communication Working Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association and healthcare institutions. As a platform provider, “DieDai” will offer a range of practical and effective tools to empower publicity efforts, accelerate the development of a new ecosystem for health communication, and jointly promote innovation in publicity and brand development for healthcare institutions.

The 2024 Health Communication Innovation Conference, held in Boao Lecheng, Hainan, carries special significance. The year 2020 was an extraordinary one; the conference, originally scheduled for July, has finally taken place today in the Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone, drawing significant attention from the industry and gathering medical professionals from all corners of the country to Lecheng.

As one of the conference organizers, the Hainan Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone is China’s only specially authorized medical pilot zone. Since its approval and establishment in 2013, it has been committed to building a world-class medical tourism destination and an international platform for cutting-edge medical technology innovation, creating an industrial cluster for international medical technical services, and leading value-based healthcare. Supported by the “New Nine National Policies,” the Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone has basically achieved “triple synchronization” with international advanced levels in medical technologies, equipment, and pharmaceuticals. The number of specially authorized imported drugs and medical devices has exceeded 100, and up to 100 new anti-tumor drugs and rare disease medications are available. Meanwhile, as the only pilot zone in mainland China for the “application of real-world data,” Boao Lecheng leverages its policy advantages of “pilot implementation and experimentation,” which are ahead of the rest of the country, allowing its “special zone” status to initially take shape. On September 1, 2020, the “Plan for Institutional and Integrated Innovative Reforms in the Hainan Free Trade Port Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone” was released. The formulation of precise implementation guidelines has enabled the practical execution of multiple policy reform initiatives in Boao Lecheng, accelerating the “Lecheng Speed” and promoting the rapid development of China’s health industry.

Boao Lecheng is also a practitioner of health communication. “Connecting the World, Serving China” has become its unique advantage under the combined influence of policy, industry, and geography. This time, the Healthy China Innovation Communication Conference was held in Boao Lecheng, where experts, scholars, and media from home and abroad gathered at this window into China’s medical industry to convey the voice of Chinese health to the world.