Huizhen Platform, Born from China's Tiered Diagnosis Policy, to Accelerate Expansion in Second Half of 2026

Tiered diagnosis and treatment is a significant measure for the rational allocation of medical resources by the state. Since the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction of a Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment System" in 2015, the tiered diagnosis and treatment system has gradually come into public view.

Subsequently, in the 2017 “Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction and Development of Medical Consortiums,” the State Council stated that it would promote the shifting of the focus of healthcare work and the allocation of resources to the grassroots level, enhance primary care service capacity, better implement tiered diagnosis and treatment, and meet the public’s health needs.

In 2019, the “Key Tasks for Deepening the Reform of the Medical and Healthcare System in 2019,” issued by the General Office of the State Council, indicated that the government’s approach to hierarchical diagnosis and treatment and the development of medical consortia had gradually shifted from macro-level policy guidance to specific industry management.

The introduction of tiered diagnosis and treatment has given rise to a number of enterprises serving this model, including Zhiyucheng Medical Technology Chengdu Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhiyucheng Medical Technology”).

Zhiyucheng Medical Technology is an innovative medical ecosystem resource integration institution. By deeply integrating resources within the medical ecosystem, it empowers healthcare delivery through enhanced resource utilization, enabling physicians to provide better services, facilitating more efficient patient access to care, and promoting fuller collaborative use of medical resources across hospitals.

Zhiyucheng Medical Technology was established in March 2017, with its headquarters in Chengdu. Its founder, Li Tao, has 14 years of clinical surgical experience at Grade A tertiary hospitals and was among the first surgeons in Sichuan Province to perform laparoscopic procedures. Li Tao stated, “Having been deeply engaged in the healthcare industry for over two decades, I have accumulated extensive experience in hospital operations, healthcare industry management, and the integration of healthcare sector resources.”

As a surgeon, Li Tao has 14 years of clinical experience, and his skills and background promise a bright future. Why, then, did he resign to start his own business? Li Tao told VCBeat: “Six years ago, I attended an important conference in Beijing and realized that China’s healthcare reforms were gradually moving toward liberating the productive capacity of physicians. This discovery greatly inspired me, so I resolved to found Zhiyucheng Medical Technology. In fact, prior to that, I had already accumulated resources and expertise in several areas.”

First, Li Tao identified critical pain points in the healthcare sector: the professional value of physicians is difficult to recognize, their income structure is unreasonable, and low compensation has become a significant challenge. Consequently, many medical graduates choose not to pursue clinical careers, making it difficult to stabilize the existing physician workforce. Furthermore, the uneven distribution of medical resources, particularly the low income and lack of professional fulfillment among primary care providers, has directly resulted in a substantial shortage of general practitioners at the grassroots level.

After resigning, Li Tao founded an internet company, where he accumulated extensive experience in internet operations within a year. Additionally, he observed that China’s medical resources were heavily concentrated in central hospitals, such as Grade-A tertiary hospitals, resulting in a severe imbalance. Recognizing the inherent advantage of the internet in resource allocation, he began focusing on the “Internet + Healthcare” model in 2013.

In 2015, the State Council issued policies on tiered diagnosis and treatment, which Li Tao described as “truly beyond our wildest expectations.” In particular, he viewed the inclusion of physicians’ independent practice and physician groups in the national Healthy China 2030 Planning Outline as highly consistent with the inherent laws of healthcare development. He also recognized the state’s attention to physician career development, considering it a significant boon for the entire medical profession. Subsequent releases of information regarding physicians’ independent practice and multi-site practice further bolstered Li Tao’s confidence.

Finally, he hopes to find a path that aligns with both medical principles and national policies. Li Tao remarked emotionally, “My dream is to create an online clinic for every doctor through an internet platform, enabling each physician to provide better services to their patients via these virtual clinics.”

Throughout its development, Zhiyu Cheng Medical Technology has attracted numerous top-tier talents. Currently, the company’s core management team is composed entirely of professionals from well-known publicly listed companies in the medical and internet sectors, both domestically and internationally. Core team members possess extensive experience in healthcare management, internet platform operations, and clinical medical management.

For example, the company’s Executive President holds an MBA in Business Administration from Sichuan University and serves as a provincial-level mentor for innovation and entrepreneurship; the Product Director has participated in the development of multiple internet products; and the R&D Director boasts over ten years of experience in internet product development and technical team management, having previously worked at a leading domestic e-commerce platform.

In October 2018, the “Huizhen” tiered diagnosis and treatment platform app (iOS/Android), developed by Zhiyucheng Medical Technology, was launched. This was followed by the release of the “Huizhen” PC version in March 2019. Li Tao stated, “Currently, the company has obtained four software copyrights, and ‘Huizhen’ has also been registered as a trademark.”

The “Huizhen” Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment Platform encompasses the following three aspects: Regional Internet-based Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment, Regional Internet Hospitals, and Regional Integrated Medical Service Platform.

Specifically, the “Huizhen Platform” connects primary care hospitals with tertiary hospitals based on the grid-based management of medical consortia. Tertiary hospitals and primary care hospitals share high-end medical equipment, thereby enhancing the service capacity of primary care institutions and enabling a rational allocation of medical resources. After receiving initial diagnosis at primary care facilities, patients can be referred to tertiary hospitals using referral forms issued by primary care physicians, ensuring that patients are treated at appropriate levels of care and improving the utilization efficiency of medical resources.

The “Huizhen” platform enhances regional healthcare standards and prevents the waste of medical resources through the rational allocation of such resources. For instance, patients with common colds do not need to visit tertiary hospitals; their conditions can be effectively managed at primary care facilities, while tertiary hospitals focus exclusively on complex, rare, and critical cases. This approach ensures the optimal utilization of medical resources and minimizes the misuse of advanced medical capabilities for minor ailments—akin to “using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.” Naturally, this also requires patient education to discourage the reflexive tendency to seek care at large hospitals for every health issue.

Zhiyucheng Medical Technology has developed a series of solutions by adopting the perspectives of physicians, patients, and hospitals, and by conducting research on the positioning of primary, secondary, and tertiary hospitals.

For physicians, the “Huizhen” platform enables efficient collaboration in medical services, allowing them to serve more patients and demonstrate the value of healthcare delivery. This is achieved through a coordinated division of labor, wherein primary care hospitals manage mild conditions while tertiary hospitals handle severe cases, thereby enhancing the quality of care.

For patients, the "Huizhen" platform integrates online and offline channels as well as in-hospital and out-of-hospital pathways, enabling access to comprehensive medical services throughout the pre-consultation, consultation, and post-consultation phases. Patients can select appropriate healthcare institutions via the platform to receive high-quality care and treatment, thereby avoiding the wastage of medical resources.

For hospitals, the “Huizhen” platform integrates and allocates medical and operational resources across different hospitals, facilitating the downward flow and scheduling of high-quality medical resources. This drives business growth for hospitals within the region and expands their service radius. Specifically, it connects tertiary hospitals with primary care institutions, enabling the former to accept referrals of critically ill patients from the latter, thereby ensuring the rational utilization of medical resources.

In addition, the “Huizhen” platform provides operational services by introducing internationally leading health management services and prevention and treatment methods, thereby improving the quality of care at primary-level hospitals based on patient needs.

So, why do hospitals and doctors join the “Huizhen” platform? What makes it attractive? Li Tao explained: “The state has clearly defined the roles of tertiary hospitals. Regional central hospitals should focus on enhancing medical capabilities, while primary healthcare institutions should prioritize improving medical service delivery. Our platform facilitates clinical workflow coordination among hospitals, enabling physicians to enhance their service delivery capabilities. By improving services to address the challenges of difficult and costly access to medical care for the general public, physicians can thereby increase their income.”

Zhiyucheng Medical Technology plans to gradually extend the “Huizhen” platform across the upstream and downstream segments of the healthcare industry chain, including medical institutions at all levels, government agencies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Currently, the “Huizhen” platform is being piloted in Sichuan, Yunnan, and other regions.

On August 6, Zhiyucheng Medical Technology entered into a strategic partnership with Yunnan Urban Construction & Investment Group Co., Ltd. Through its “Huizhen” platform, Zhiyucheng Medical Technology provides internet-based platform products and operational management services, while Yunnan Urban Construction & Investment contributes its marketing capabilities and resources within Yunnan Province. Both parties will jointly integrate high-quality resources to implement long-term projects focused on enhancing medical capabilities and resource integration, thereby comprehensively improving the quality of medical services in Yunnan Province.

Currently, Zhiyu Cheng Medical Technology’s “Huizhen” platform is being piloted in only a few hospitals. Li Tao stated, “In the second half of this year, the company will intensify its promotional efforts and collaborate with more hospitals.”

Unlike other similar platforms, the “Huizhen” platform places significant emphasis on the hospital side while striving to increase physicians’ income. Huizhen aims to collaborate with more hospitals and primary care institutions to encourage patients to seek initial consultations at the primary level, with severe cases referred upward, thereby achieving tiered diagnosis and treatment and promoting the rational utilization of medical resources.

Li Tao believes that the company holds advantages in three areas. He stated, “First, the company has a strong background in the healthcare industry. With years of deep involvement in internet healthcare, I have a profound understanding of healthcare reform policies. Second, the company fully leverages the advantages of the internet in allocating medical resources, establishing a tiered diagnosis and treatment model centered on physicians. Third, as the country vigorously promotes the construction of a tiered diagnosis and treatment system, the company is policy-driven and develops medical service platforms tailored to national conditions.”

Zhiyu Cheng Medical Technology has also established collaborations with universities. It signed a cooperative agreement with relevant research centers at Sichuan University to conduct joint research projects, focusing on the strategic design of platform-based internet tiered diagnosis and treatment systems and cross-organizational performance operations within medical consortia.

This project will investigate the current state of development in internet-based tiered diagnosis and treatment platforms and the digital economy market, cross-organizational performance operation consulting within medical consortia, and the measurement and evaluation of platform model operational performance. Through in-depth research on this topic, Zhiyucheng Medical Technology will implement tiered diagnosis and treatment standards that are based on patient conditions and driven by inter-hospital collaboration.

In the near future, Zhiyucheng Medical Technology will also collaborate with leading domestic and international universities in the field of healthcare operations to conduct research and practical initiatives focused on various aspects of tiered diagnosis and treatment.

At the end of the interview, Li Tao stated, “The company is preparing for a new round of financing, and the proceeds will be used for research and development as well as business expansion.”