Elephant Doctor Smart Dental Hospital Empowers SME Dentists Through DSO+ Model and SaaS Platform

Robust policy support, evolving business models, shifting consumer habits, and advancements in innovative technologies are all exerting a profound impact on the healthcare and wellness industry. As policies enabling physicians to practice at multiple institutions become increasingly widespread, the future medical market holds limitless possibilities.

Within the broader healthcare system, dentistry has been the earliest specialty to undergo commercialization, with a more market-driven business model. A significant number of dentists aspire to practice independently, leading to rapid growth in private dental clinics. However, these clinics also face multifaceted challenges in marketing, training, financing, and operations.

To support this segment of independently practicing dentists, Yang Haichuan, who has over a decade of experience in investment management for private hospitals, founded Henan Xiangboshi Medical Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Xiangboshi”) in May 2019. Leveraging an internet-based platform and its own offline hospitals, Xiangboshi adopts the DSO+ model to integrate small, micro, and medium-sized dental practitioners into delivering high-quality dental care. This approach enhances the economic value of dentists, reduces patients’ out-of-pocket costs, and streamlines the traditional dental service supply chain.

In May 2019, Yang Haichuan led his medical aesthetics team, with whom he had worked for over a decade, to formally transition into the smart dentistry sector. At that time, he already owned and operated six medical aesthetics clinics.

In his view, the value of physicians should ultimately return to their core mission: treating diseases and saving lives. In recent years, the medical aesthetics industry has seen intense competition, with issues such as overtreatment and excessive marketing. This has necessitated substantial investments of human and material resources into marketing efforts, thereby somewhat diminishing the intrinsic value of medical care.

In February 2019, the National Health Commission issued the Healthy Oral Health Action Plan (2019–2025), clearly outlining the overall objectives for oral health initiatives by 2025 along with five quantifiable performance indicators. Yang Haichuan once again recognized a business opportunity and resolved to return to the dental industry.

For Yang Haichuan, the dental industry was not a new frontier. After graduating with a specialization in oral and maxillofacial surgery, he began his career at dental institutions, progressing from a junior dentist to a manager, and eventually to an investor who founded his own dental clinic. However, Yang has always harbored a dream of working in medical aesthetics. “I originally intended to major in medical aesthetics in college, but such a specialized program did not exist at that time. Most medical aesthetic practitioners transitioned from fields such as stomatology, dermatology, or otolaryngology, entering the medical aesthetics sector only after accumulating extensive clinical experience.”

By chance, Yang Haichuan transitioned into the medical aesthetics industry. Similarly, within this field, he has evolved through the roles of physician, manager, and investor, accumulating over a decade of operational experience.

Like Yang Haichuan, the operational team at Dr. Elephant is largely composed of professionals with degrees in dentistry and medicine, who have worked together in the medical aesthetics industry for many years. “We understand what today’s consumers value most, as well as the pain points faced by dentists, and we are well-versed in market dynamics and customer advantages. Moreover, we remain committed to our original mission of ‘restoring medical value to physicians,’” Yang told reporters.

Dr. Elephant aims to establish a “five-star” hospital as its core, connecting doctors with patients. It provides a platform for physicians to practice at multiple locations while offering clients a more affordable and reassuring clinical environment. Dr. Elephant is committed to leveraging its smart dentistry business platform to integrate into the national dental ecosystem, helping small and micro dental practices expand their businesses across China.

During the establishment of the hospital, Dr. Elephant prioritized the intelligence of various professional hardware and supporting equipment, integrated with intelligent specialized software, and introduced advanced instruments. Under the policy allowing multi-site practice, these measures aim to attract more physicians to work at Dr. Elephant Smart Dental Hospital.

Yang Haichuan told reporters that although all practitioners are dentists, the field is further subdivided into specialties such as endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and pediatric dentistry. For instance, if a patient with a toothache consults a dentist who specializes in extractions, it often results in prolonged treatment cycles and higher associated costs. Therefore, Xiang Boshi has first developed an intelligent, professional SaaS platform. On this platform, doctors are required to upload their profiles, enabling patients to search for appropriate providers based on their symptoms and schedule home visits.

To ensure service quality, the Xiang Boshi SaaS platform has also introduced an evaluation mechanism, allowing patients to rate doctors, nurses, and hospitals immediately after their consultations. Based on these ratings and feedback, Xiang Boshi will make adjustments to its physician roster. Patients can also select doctors based on these evaluations, thereby facilitating physicians in building their personal brands.

Furthermore, the SaaS platform can manage physicians’ workstation spaces and enable intelligent hardware integration, thereby establishing a database to further guide hospital management.

According to Dr. Elephant’s research, the current profit-sharing ratio for dentists at dental institutions does not exceed 35%, even after deducting various costs. As a result, physicians’ labor income is significantly disproportionate to their workload. Dr. Elephant Smart Dental Hospital adopts a shared-economy model and attracts more dentists through a principled profit-distribution framework. Notably, Dr. Elephant Dental also collaborates with insurance companies to provide liability insurance coverage for its dentists.

In terms of customer acquisition, Dr. Elephant has secured a larger customer base by collaborating with multiple online platforms, including Ali Health, Dianping, JD Health, Taikang Insurance, and provincial and municipal medical insurance programs. Additionally, it leverages traffic from small and medium-sized institutions and physicians across various regions, the organic traffic of platform-affiliated hospitals, member referral programs, and repeat customer purchases to further expand its clientele. Regarding profitability, Dr. Elephant operates under four distinct revenue models.

Regarding future plans, Dr. Elephant will open a flagship hospital of 5,000 to 6,000 square meters in Henan Province in 2020. In the future, it plans to open 16 hospitals across China. Currently, Dr. Elephant Smart Dentistry is seeking angel-round funding to build a five-star hospital.