Chinese Medical Doctor Association and Tencent Launch 'National Super Community' for Over 4 Million Doctors with 'China Doctor Home' Platform

On May 10, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned that the Chinese Medical Doctor Association had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Tencent to jointly build the “Chinese Physicians’ Home” platform. Leveraging Tencent’s leading technologies in internet and artificial intelligence, the platform will focus on modules such as education and training, precision member services, and medical science popularization, providing physicians with comprehensive digital services. This initiative aims to strengthen the development of China’s physician workforce and provide robust support for safeguarding public health and achieving the “Healthy China” goal.

Zhang Yanling, President of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, stated, “Embracing the internet is a requirement of our times. Tencent is one of China’s largest internet companies with the most extensive user base. Partnering with Tencent to serve Chinese physicians is not only our responsibility and mission, but also a key lever and driving force. We believe that this strategic cooperation will inject new vitality into the development of the ‘Home for Chinese Doctors,’ achieve complementary advantages, foster innovation and mutual benefit, and make new contributions to the new journey of building a Healthy China.”

Tang Daosheng, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent Group, stated, “The Chinese Medical Doctor Association is committed to serving physicians across China, strengthening comprehensive training for doctors, and ensuring the healthy development of the physician workforce. Tencent is honored to partner with the Chinese Medical Doctor Association to build a digital platform that integrates three core systems: informatized management of training and education, membership services for physicians, and science-based medical education and public outreach. Together, we will share the innovation and value brought by technological advancements.”

At the 10th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress, Ma Xiaowei, Director of the National Health Commission, pointed out in his report that there are still some imbalances and inadequacies in the development of China’s physician workforce, which urgently need to be strengthened and improved. First, the total number of physicians is insufficient, and their distribution is uneven. Second, the quality of physician training needs to be improved. Third, medical service delivery models and quality require urgent improvement. Fourth, the protection of physicians’ rights and the fulfillment of their obligations are inadequate. Fifth, the Law on Licensed Physicians urgently needs to be revised and improved.

Being a physician is a profession that demands high levels of knowledge and professional expertise, requiring lifelong learning and development. Therefore, the physician education and training system will become one of the core modules of “China Doctors’ Home.” Leveraging its technological advantages, Tencent will establish a comprehensive information management system for physician training and education, creating a learning platform that covers the entire career growth cycle of physicians. By integrating the training, assessment, and evaluation systems, the platform aims to enhance learning efficiency. It will also facilitate systematic training for primary care and rural doctors, helping to alleviate the uneven distribution of medical resources. Furthermore, Tencent will utilize internet and artificial intelligence technologies to optimize quality supervision in the physician training process, thereby improving the effectiveness of physician development.

Zhang Meng, Vice President of Tencent Healthcare, stated, “Tencent aspires to serve as a ‘digital assistant’ across various industries, providing a comprehensive toolkit to facilitate digital transformation. Healthcare is a sector vital to national welfare and people’s livelihoods, with physicians at the core of medical and health services. We aim to leverage internet technologies to build a systematic and intelligent education and training platform for the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, thereby improving physicians’ learning experiences and quality of life. By becoming their digital partner, we seek to enhance their sense of fulfillment and well-being.”

The Chinese Medical Doctor Association (CMDA) has long been committed to serving its physician members across China. However, due to the large size and geographic dispersion of the physician community, current engagement with the membership system remains relatively weak. Therefore, in building the “Chinese Physicians’ Home” platform, Tencent will leverage its extensive expertise in internet technologies and membership operations to establish a comprehensive benefits framework for physicians. This initiative aims to enhance the quality of membership services by providing support in areas such as training participation, academic conferences, scientific research, and rights protection and self-discipline. Additionally, exclusive insurance plans will be offered to physician members on the platform, ensuring that various incentive and safeguard measures are more visible and tangible to them.

Furthermore, the platform will fully leverage its large-scale physician network alongside Tencent’s technological and dissemination capabilities to encourage doctors to engage in creating medical science popularization content. By utilizing the internet to deliver precise health education to the public, it aims to promote healthy lifestyles and enhance residents’ self-health management skills and health literacy.

By the end of 2018, China had 3.607 million licensed physicians and over 1 million village doctors, with annual patient visits reaching 8.31 billion, thereby supporting the world’s largest healthcare service system. The launch of the “Chinese Physicians’ Home” platform will undoubtedly leverage internet technologies to enhance the efficiency of physician training, accelerate the development of a high-quality medical workforce, better fulfill its role as the main force in deepening healthcare reform and as a steadfast guardian of public health, and contribute to realizing the vision of “Healthy China.”