Andy Clinic: Delivering High-Value Primary Care Through Refined Operational Excellence – A Grassroots Healthcare Case Study

This marks VCBeat’s second interview with Chengdu Ande General Practice Chain Clinics (hereinafter referred to as “Ande”) after a one-year interval.

When asked about the company's changes over the past year, Zhong Peng, President of Ande, described it as "strengthening internal capabilities."

Every word represents the development logic of Ander.

“Xiu” signifies the dedication to meticulous refinement. On May 16, 2017, the General Office of the State Council issued the “Opinions on Encouraging and Supporting Social Forces in Providing Multi-level and Diversified Medical Services,” propelling general practice clinics into the spotlight as favorites of both policy-makers and the media almost overnight. Against this backdrop, many general practice clinics embarked on large-scale expansion. However, instead of following the trend, Ande opted for a steady and prudent approach, focusing on strengthening its talent pool and refining its business model.

Refinement refers to the process of repeated polishing under certain difficulties. Six years ago, Zhong Peng introduced the UK’s general practice model to Chengdu and established the “Ande General Practice” clinic in the community. In the following years, Ande encountered numerous challenges. However, by adjusting its service delivery, earning the trust of community residents, and collaborating with specialists from tertiary hospitals to develop a product line spanning from diagnosis and treatment to health management, Ande ultimately secured a firm foothold in the market.

“Nei” (Inner) stands in contrast to “Wai” (Outer). The name “Ande” is derived from Dr. Andy, a 19th-century British physician, symbolizing “benevolence and compassion in medicine.” This reflects Ande’s corporate mission: “to center on the health and happiness of families by providing high-quality, affordable, and compassionate medical services.”

Merit, or methodology. In the face of a constantly changing market environment, VCBeat continuously summarizes experience, experiments with new approaches, and develops practical, efficient, and rational operational strategies.

Ande, adept at discerning customer needs, has achieved steady progress over the years, gradually becoming a healthcare service provider highly regarded by community families. This is precisely why we have turned our attention to Ande.

Image source: Provided by the interviewee

What Kind of General Practice Services Can Satisfy Patients Seeking Care at the Primary Level?

Cost-effectiveness may be one of the answers. For the vast majority of patients seeking care at primary healthcare facilities, it has long been difficult to balance receiving quality medical treatment with minimizing out-of-pocket expenses. On the hospital side, high operational and labor costs remain an unavoidable issue; as the saying goes, “the wool comes from the sheep,” meaning these costs are ultimately passed on to patients.

In response to this market pain point, Ande has skillfully struck a balance between the two through refined operations.

“Ande’s approach to refined operations is centered entirely on customer needs. By establishing quality and service standards, it has standardized clinical practices in clinics, gradually enhancing patients’ healthcare experience through continuous practice and summarization,” Zhong Peng told VCBeat. He stated that the core of refined operations is mainly reflected in three aspects: “people,” “products,” and “place.”

1. In terms of the "people" aspect, Andre places disease course management at the core of its services. Guided by the service philosophy of "emphasizing therapeutic efficacy and prioritizing humanistic care," it designs the entire diagnosis and treatment workflow to ensure that every touchpoint is perceptible to customers. This allows patients to experience that Andre’s clinical care adheres to quality standards, its services are delivered with warmth and empathy, and its users are highly valued, thereby fostering strong trust relationships. "Building trust generates positive word-of-mouth, which in turn attracts more customers to Andre."

To enhance employees’ service orientation, Ande places particular emphasis on building corporate culture and has incorporated “becoming the healthcare institution with the highest happiness index” into its corporate vision. “Healthcare is fundamentally based on people serving people. Therefore, we hope our employees will genuinely and conscientiously attend to every customer from the heart, treating them as their own family and friends. Only in this way can we better convey our service philosophy,” stated Zhong Peng. “During the interview process prior to joining the company, we communicate with each candidate to determine whether they have a genuine commitment to community healthcare. In daily operations, we also closely observe employees’ performance in service delivery.”

II. Regarding “goods,” Ande places strong emphasis on supply chain management to balance cost and efficiency. “Our supply chain is highly efficient, enabling us to meet our operational needs while effectively controlling various procurement and warehousing costs. The savings generated are passed back to users as rebates and used as working capital for the company. This allows customers to receive high-quality services at more affordable prices, while institutions can secure the funding and revenue needed for sustainable growth.”

III. In terms of the “environment,” Ander continuously enhances patients’ experience in outpatient settings. “When patients visit healthcare institutions due to illness, they expect to receive timely care in a relatively comfortable environment. By optimizing service workflows and carefully designing specific touchpoints, Ander ensures an exceptional user experience. Of course, these environmental enhancements are implemented without extravagance or waste, so that customers do not bear additional costs for unnecessary expenses.”

Enhance service quality through the “people” and “setting” dimensions to make it perceptible to users, while improving operational efficiency through “products” to pass on benefits to users, delivering high cost-performance services. This is precisely the core of Ande’s refined operations: ensuring medical services are high-quality, compassionate, and affordable.

When discussing the company’s future plans, Zhong Peng stated that Ande would establish its base in Chengdu, aiming to operate 15 chain outpatient clinics by 2020 and achieve an annual service capacity of 500,000 patient visits.

“Our goal is to become the primary healthcare service provider in Chengdu with the strongest service capacity and highest customer satisfaction by 2023, serving over one million patient visits annually. By 2025, Ande will expand to multiple cities across China, establishing itself as a nationwide leader in quality and service within the primary healthcare sector.”

Achieving this goal requires support from multiple fronts. The first issue to be addressed is how to build a talent pipeline.

For frontline nursing teams, Ande has implemented a store manager training system and built all-around nursing teams. Ande offers nurses two career paths: one is the professional track, becoming an excellent professional mentor; the other is the management track, starting as a shift nurse and entering Ande’s management trainee program, with opportunities to grow into assistant store managers, deputy store managers, store managers, and regional managers, continuously cultivating grassroots operational and managerial talent for Ande’s scaled development. Additionally, Ande’s nurses must be highly versatile. Beyond basic skills such as injections and infusions, they are required to engage in cross-departmental learning and master multiple non-nursing competencies, including customer relationship management.

In terms of physician training, Ande has established multidisciplinary teams, with outstanding physicians serving as team leaders to drive continuous learning and innovation among their peers. On the management side, Ande prioritizes the promotion of internal employees to managerial roles and has constructed a three-tiered management development system encompassing entry-level, middle, and senior leadership.

Doctors from Andrew General Practice Clinic Enter Communities to Promote Medical Knowledge

“Andes currently has over 100 employees. In terms of departmental structure, in addition to the Medical Department, Marketing Department, Human Resources and Administration Department, and Finance Department, a new Experience Design Department was added this year. This department was established under the company’s strategic goal of ‘infusing humanism,’ and it is also one of our measures to continuously improve service quality.”

As a chain organization, achieving standardization across all processes is a key objective for corporate development. In Zhong Peng’s view, standardization ensures quality and enhances efficiency, with the main challenges lying in establishing standards and ensuring their implementation.

“Achieving standardization requires continuous summarization and refinement through practical work. As primary healthcare has yet to establish successful models of large-scale chain operations, it is essential to draw on innovation and best practices from other industries, applying them in alignment with the fundamental nature of both healthcare and business. Moreover, the standardized chain development model demands substantial initial investment in capital and human resources, inevitably presenting institutions with challenges related to both survival and growth. This is precisely why Ande has opted for a strategy of refined, meticulous operations.”

As the country vigorously promotes the tiered diagnosis and treatment policy, the allocation of healthcare resources continues to be optimized. Zhong Peng believes that Ande has seized a favorable opportunity. “The series of policies introduced by the state are highly beneficial to the development of primary healthcare institutions like Ande, particularly given Chengdu’s progressive policy environment. All medical practices at Ande are strictly formulated and implemented in accordance with national policies. Ande will continue to strive for excellence in community-based diagnosis and treatment, committed to becoming a trusted partner for every family.”

In 2019, New Opportunities and Challenges Coexist!

VCBeat Partners with “Deep Divers” to Focus on the “Ocean” of Grassroots Medical Innovation

How to Thrive and Dive Deeper in the Vast “Deep-Water Zone”?

If you are also a “deep-dive enthusiast” of primary healthcare,

We welcome you to sign up and join us in conquering the vast “ocean” of primary healthcare.