JD Health Launches Nankai JD Internet Hospital, Deepening Its Strategic Move into Integrated Healthcare Services

Recently, the “Nankai JD Internet Hospital,” jointly established by JD Health and Tianjin Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine (Nankai Hospital), was launched, marking another benchmark event in JD Health’s deepening engagement within hospital settings and its “in-depth” exploration of internet-based healthcare. As internet healthcare plays an increasingly prominent role in driving the deepening and extension of the medical industry chain, leading enterprises represented by JD Health are evolving their internet healthcare business models from single-point entry points toward gradual, diversified integration. This shift is facilitating the seamless connection of medical resource chains, suggesting that a breakthrough in the industry may be imminent.

(Doctors at work at the Nankai JD Internet Hospital workstation)

The newly launched Nankai JD Internet Hospital provides users in Tianjin and across China with services including online follow-up consultations, health consultations, and follow-up management by establishing an “Internet+” medical service model that integrates online and offline care and covers the entire process from pre-consultation to intra-consultation and post-consultation. Supported by Tianjin’s medical insurance policies, the platform has enabled online medical insurance payments for follow-up consultations and prescription medications. Its distinctive services, such as at-home nursing, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution identification, and physical examination appointments, have been widely praised by patients and their families in the Tianjin area. Furthermore, leveraging JD Group’s logistics capabilities and supply chain strengths, local patients can also enjoy a “door-to-door medication delivery” service, with drug deliveries now achievable within half a day.

In the post-pandemic era, internet healthcare is entering a period of recalibration—returning to rationality, focusing on core business operations, and reaffirming the patient-centered essence of medical care. Wang Dongyuan, General Manager of Smart Healthcare at JD Health, stated that the collaboration between JD Health and Tianjin Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine (Nankai Hospital) has always been driven by the provision of precise, high-quality medical services, closely centered on serving patients. A relevant official from Nankai Hospital remarked, “Focusing on patients’ healthcare needs in the post-pandemic period, we have innovated new models of medical consultation and created new clinical environments. The Nankai-JD Internet Hospital not only enhances convenience for patients but also continuously improves the quality and efficiency of healthcare professionals’ work.”

In recent years, the internet healthcare industry has experienced significant fluctuations, resulting in a diverse and complex landscape of digital health products. As the complexity of medical informatization in offline physical institutions increases, internet-based products require ever-greater customization as they integrate more deeply with hospital operations. To practically implement the patient-centered philosophy, Nankai University and JD Health aligned their product positioning for the “Nankai-JD Internet Hospital” from the outset by focusing on patient needs. They targeted three key touchpoints where current policy initiatives intersect with patients’ healthcare demands: follow-up consultations, medication procurement, and nursing care. Centered on these three critical needs, they have established a closed-loop service ecosystem encompassing health consultations, online follow-up visits, e-prescriptions, online medical insurance payments, chronic disease management, home-based nursing services, and home medication delivery.

Follow-up consultations, medication purchases, and nursing care—these three key needs are underpinned by a secure financial payment system, including an online medical insurance payment infrastructure. During the pandemic, Tianjin was among the first regions in China to relax medical insurance policies for internet-based healthcare. With technical support from JD Health, the “Nankai JD Internet Hospital” achieved deep integration with hospital information systems and effective linkage with the medical insurance system, enabling secure and efficient online medical insurance payments for follow-up consultation fees and compliant prescription medications.

Leveraging JD.com’s supply chain and logistics advantages, the medication delivery service currently provided through Nankai JD Internet Hospital achieves “half-day delivery.” Moving forward, it will integrate JD Health’s O2O medication purchasing service, “Yao Ji Song” (Medication Express), further enhancing delivery efficiency. Meanwhile, a series of innovative technologies from JD—including financial security measures, facial recognition, and AI-powered prescription review—are being progressively implemented within the one-stop payment system of Nankai JD Internet Hospital, safeguarding the future integration of multiple payment scenarios such as out-of-pocket payments, basic medical insurance, and commercial health insurance.

(Introduction to the Features of the Nankai JD Internet Hospital APP)

The “Internet + Nursing” service, which has drawn widespread attention from Tianjin residents, features over 100 nursing staff members on standby online each day. Adopting a model of “online application and offline service,” it provides home-based nursing care for discharged patients, effectively addressing the practical needs for home rehabilitation and nursing care during the pandemic. Currently, Nankai JD Internet Hospital covers multiple departments, including internal medicine, surgery, traditional Chinese medicine, gynecology, obstetrics, pediatrics, as well as medical technology and auxiliary services, with more than 200 physicians providing online consultation and nursing services to patients.

(Homepage and Consultation Page of the Nankai JD Internet Hospital APP)

The TCM Constitution Identification feature launched by Nankai JD Internet Hospital is a TCM service module with the distinctive characteristics of Nankai Hospital. By completing an online questionnaire, patients can have their constitution type identified by the system, which then provides “personalized” TCM diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Moving forward, both parties will continue to collaborate to enhance data utilization capabilities in the field of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine, as well as to improve physicians’ diagnostic and treatment capabilities and efficiency.

According to reports, JD Health will leverage JD’s high-quality user base and internet technologies to provide hospitals with an integrated, specialty-focused internet healthcare platform that facilitates comprehensive collaboration. The company is simultaneously strengthening operational efficiency by perfecting a vertical service closed-loop, while advancing discipline construction to address the fundamental needs of medical care. Furthermore, both parties are deepening their cooperation in leveraging smart wearable devices to enhance post-diagnosis management and chronic disease management.

In the future, JD Health will integrate JD Group’s new infrastructure capabilities and resources, including big data, technology, and digital supply chain solutions, to jointly explore with Nankai Hospital the application of high-quality offline medical resources in clinical settings. This collaboration aims to enhance hospital operational efficiency, overall medical and management standards, and optimize resource allocation. The path of in-depth cooperation between JD Health and hospitals will continue to broaden.