From Doctor Social Network to Internet Hospital: Yilian's Transformation Journey

This is a story shared by Wang Shirui, founder and CEO of Medlinker, in a speech. Similar to Dr. Pei’s case, there are many such stories within Medlinker. During the speech, Wang also cited another example: Director Yue from Yunnan Province efficiently manages over 300 liver disease patients through the physician-side studio provided by Medlinker. In an interview, Director Yue noted that internet-based solutions greatly benefit patients, enabling them to enjoy online follow-up consultations, prescription renewals, and home delivery of medications without the burden of travel. This is particularly significant given the considerable difficulty for patients in certain areas of Yunnan to make trips to the provincial capital.

Among Medlinker’s numerous cases, those in the hepatology department appear to be more prevalent. This stems from Medlinker’s initial entry into the internet hospital business through a specialized focus on liver diseases. Wang Shirui noted that in 2018, Medlinker partnered with the renowned pharmaceutical company Gilead to concentrate on building a hepatology specialty. Centered on patient needs, Medlinker has strived to create a patient-centric closed-loop system. After two years of intensive development, Medlinker has established certain industry advantages in the field of liver disease.

In the summer of 2014, while on a flight returning to China from the United States, Wang Shirui drafted a business plan for a physician social networking platform. That same year, the 27-year-old secured angel investment based on this proposal, marking the birth of Medlinker. Four years later, Medlinker announced the completion of its Series D financing round of RMB 1 billion and became Chengdu’s second new-economy unicorn company. In addition to successfully securing multiple rounds of funding, the healthcare enterprise has received numerous accolades, including being recognized as a “Typical Case of the Sharing Economy” by the National Development and Reform Commission and named one of “Forbes China’s Most Innovative Companies of 2019.”

From the outset of building its physician community, Medlinker’s development path has differed from that of other platforms.

According to Wang Shirui, the prevailing strategic approach at the time was to choose between online and offline operations. Many startups failed to strike a proper balance, veering toward extremes: some excessively emulated experiences from other industrial internet sectors by adopting pure online operations, only to find their asset-light models insufficient for penetrating the specialized healthcare sector; others adhered to traditional healthcare pathways by committing fully to offline operations, while neglecting integration with product R&D and online operational strategies.

Amidst the fiercely competitive landscape in the early stages, Medlinker adhered to an operational model that placed equal emphasis on both online and offline channels. Despite encountering numerous setbacks in its offline operations, Medlinker swiftly adjusted its strategy by leveraging robust offline initiatives as a vanguard to acquire users. After transitioning these users to its online platform, the company continued to align its offline operational activities with the needs of both the platform and its users. These offline efforts were tailored to range from precision targeting at the individual level and deep specialization within specific medical disciplines to scaled-up initiatives across the entire industry.

From China’s largest real-name “doctor social network” to a “practice platform,” and further evolving into a leading “internet hospital” in the country, Medlinker has never ceased its business expansion across the upstream and downstream of the industry chain or its rapid innovation at the operational level since its establishment five years ago. Each innovation has consistently adhered to a model that places equal emphasis on both online and offline services.

Medlinker has been focusing on its internet hospital business since early 2018. Chronic disease specialties have always been a hallmark of Medlinker’s internet hospital, with hepatology being one of the key areas it has deeply cultivated from the outset.

In early 2018, Medlinker began piloting a hepatology-focused internet hospital initiative, using hepatitis C as the entry point. Within one year, it assembled nearly 16,000 hepatologists from across China. Six months after its launch, the platform had enrolled more than 8,000 hepatitis C patients, resulting in the cure of thousands of individuals with hepatitis C.

In late 2018, Gilead’s new hepatitis B drug was launched; the initial batch sold out within 20 minutes of being listed on Medlinker Cloud Pharmacy, demonstrating that the internet hospital model can significantly improve the accessibility of innovative drugs.

Since then, Medlinker has successively partnered with well-known domestic insurance companies and public welfare organizations. Through initiatives such as Patient Assistance Programs (PAP), it alleviates patients' financial burdens, while leveraging commercial insurance to manage disease-related risks. Spanning screening and prevention, diagnosis and treatment, follow-up management, patient education, and insurance coverage, Medlinker Internet Hospital strives to create a patient-centric, comprehensive solution.

This year, during the ninth World Hepatitis Day, Medlinker partnered with Gilead to launch the “Hundred-Hospital Containment Campaign,” a cross-sector initiative uniting medical institutions, enterprises, government agencies, and public welfare organizations in a concerted effort to eliminate hepatitis B and C. The campaign consisted of nationwide screening and free clinic activities targeting hepatitis B and C viruses. Over a period of half a month, it spanned 72 cities across 29 provinces, engaging more than 1,000 medical professionals from over 120 hospitals and screening more than 20,000 individuals.

In line with Medlinker’s strategic direction, more medical specialties will be integrated into the Medlinker Internet Hospital platform, and Medlinker will also expand its collaborations with more pharmaceutical companies. Wang Shirui stated, “We have accumulated nearly five years of online operational experience and built a professional, high-efficiency offline broker team. For physicians, we provide comprehensive services including academic support and personal brand building; for patients, we deliver more convenient and higher-quality medical and pharmaceutical services; for enterprises, we offer more efficient patient–physician education programs along with other customized promotional solutions.”

He emphasized, “We will continue to refine our diversified layout in the healthcare sector. While building on our physician platform, we will vigorously develop our internet hospital business. By integrating medical resources—including physicians, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare institutions, and pharmacies—we aim to create greater social and commercial value, benefiting both medical professionals and the public.”

Currently, Medlinker Internet Hospital is expanding from its specialty in hepatology to other medical specialties, covering multiple disease areas such as HIV, endocrinology, oncology, and orthopedics, and has gradually grown into one of the leading internet hospital platforms in China.