Kedong County in Heilongjiang Partners with WeDoctor to Build a Digital Medical Consortium and Innovate Chronic Disease Management Services

Kedong County Presses the “Accelerator” on Digital Development of Its Medical Consortium. On September 16, the People’s Government of Kedong County, Heilongjiang Province, and the County Health Bureau separately signed a strategic agreement and a cooperation agreement with Weiyi Holdings, officially launching the construction of the “Digital Medical Consortium” in Kedong County. Leveraging digital technologies such as the internet, big data, and artificial intelligence, the initiative will develop innovative applications including a tiered diagnosis and treatment platform, the Kedong Weiyi Internet Hospital, and the Kedong Health Portal. It aims to explore and establish a digital service system for chronic disease management at the county level, thereby achieving the goal of “Healthy Kedong,” characterized by improved public health and citizen satisfaction.

Li Baichun, Vice Chairman of the Qiqihar Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Secretary of the Kedong County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC); Liu Weidong, Deputy Secretary of the Kedong County CPC Committee and County Mayor; Zhang Lijun, Chairman of the Kedong County CPPCC Committee; Cheng Wanshan, Deputy Secretary of the Kedong County CPC Committee; An Xiaodong, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Kedong County People's Congress; Sun Zhimin, Deputy County Mayor of Kedong County; Wang Yufeng, Director of the Kedong County Health Commission; as well as key officials from relevant county-level departments and representatives from Weiyi Group, attended the signing ceremony.

This collaboration marks Heilongjiang Province’s first initiative to innovatively engage Micro Medical Group at the county level, using integrated comprehensive reform of county-level healthcare and pharmaceutical services as an entry point. By adopting a zoned, tiered, categorized, and phased operational approach, the project aims to improve the management system of county-level medical consortia and the three-tier rural healthcare service network, thereby creating a county-level HMO model suited to China’s national conditions.

It is understood that the digital integration of the Kedong Medical Community will center on the WeDoctor Internet Hospital Platform and the Primary Healthcare Platform, utilizing the “Digital Mobile Hospital” and the “21st Century Barefoot Doctor” cloud consultation kit as key carriers. Built upon the Regional Health Information Platform and the Smart Health Insurance Supervision Platform, this initiative will horizontally integrate medical services, pharmaceuticals, and health insurance, while vertically connecting the three-tier medical service network at the county, township, and village levels. This aims to establish a closed-loop system for comprehensive chronic disease management within the county, featuring the integration of medical care and prevention, online and offline services, and specialist and general practice care.

On one hand, we will continuously strengthen the digital support for services such as family doctor contract services, basic public health services, internet-based diagnosis and treatment, and tiered diagnosis and treatment, thereby enhancing the medical and healthcare service capacity at the county level and improving the refined management capabilities for populations with chronic diseases, so as to build a new standardized system for chronic disease management that covers the entire process and full life cycle. On the other hand, we will gradually promote the creation of a health service consortium comprising government entities, social enterprises, and medical and healthcare institutions, to realize a health management model featuring disease-specific payment and value-based payment through commercial health insurance, public health funds, and basic medical insurance funds.

In 2019, the National Health Commission’s “Guiding Plan for Pilot Programs on Building Close-Knit County-Level Medical Communities” explicitly called for strengthening informatization to enhance the collaborative service capabilities of healthcare institutions and improve governmental oversight. As a national-level pilot county for close-knit medical community construction and a demonstration county in Qiqihar City, Kedong County has continuously innovated its service models by establishing two county-level medical communities led by the County People’s Hospital and the County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, respectively. This effort has gradually built an integrated healthcare delivery system characterized by resource sharing, coordinated promotion, harmonious development, and joint improvement.

“The urgent need for information technology development in our county’s medical consortium is clear. By introducing WeDoctor’s innovative platform and services, we will accelerate the overall improvement of healthcare IT capabilities in our county, enabling two lead hospitals, six township health centers, one community health service center, and 97 village clinics to form a more integrated and efficient consortium. This will advance the ‘Digital Kedong’ initiative and tangibly improve the health outcomes of Kedong residents,” said Wang Yufeng.

As a globally leading digital health platform, WeDoctor has taken the lead in exploring the development of tightly integrated medical consortia empowered by digital technologies in multiple regions, including Hubei and Henan provinces. This initiative continuously enhances local primary healthcare service capabilities and provides the public with one-stop digital health services that integrate online and offline care. Cai Qiang, Vice Chairman and President of WeDoctor Group, stated that through this collaboration, WeDoctor will fully leverage its accumulated expertise and advantages in building digital medical consortia to deliver higher-quality and more convenient digital health services to the residents of Kedong County, thereby accelerating and improving the efficiency of achieving goals such as tiered diagnosis and treatment in the county.

Li Baichun stated that establishing a close-knit county-level medical consortium is a significant measure to integrate medical resources across the county and advance the “three-medical linkage” reform. It is essential to accelerate the development of a digital medical consortium, implement innovative healthcare reform models, promote the transition from a disease-centered approach to a people’s health-centered approach, comprehensively enhance the county’s medical service capacity, and improve the health outcomes of residents in Kedong County.