From Platform-Backed Partner to Independent Brand: Linkong Network Embarks on a New Three-Year Journey in Transforming Healthcare Through the Internet

At the end of 2015, a fierce “dispute” erupted within Shanghai Liankong Network Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Liankong Network”), which had been established just three months prior. Founder Kuang Hua and several other senior executives stepped onto the “PK stage,” with each side sticking to its own argument: “return to Shanghai” versus “operate nationwide.”

A year earlier, a close collaboration with Alipay had brought Kuang Hua into the internet healthcare industry, leading Shanghai Liankong Network Technology Co., Ltd. to roll out its services across China in varying degrees through its partnership with Alipay. As time went on, Kuang Hua came to believe that nationwide operations were inefficient and advocated for a strategic refocus, withdrawing entirely from the national market to concentrate solely on Shanghai. However, several senior executives argued that Liankong Network had already established a solid foothold in the national market and urged the company to continue its countrywide expansion.

After a week of “intense debate,” Kuang Hua ultimately persuaded the other team members by addressing foundational team issues, future development, and resource allocation. This laid the groundwork for the growth of Liankong Network. Subsequently, Liankong Network employed a “blitzkrieg” strategy to rapidly expand into the Shanghai market, and to date, it has covered 70% of Shanghai’s hospitals at Level II and above.

Liankong Network has always positioned itself as “building the Internet for hospitals.” In 2015, it collaborated with Alipay to develop a standard version of the Service Window; in 2016, it launched “Future Hospital 2.0”; in 2017, it introduced “Liankong Yijia”; and in 2018, it implemented unattended services and unified payment solutions…

What transformations occurred during this process? How did Liankong Network evolve from “symbiosis” to “independence and self-reliance”? What new plans did Liankong Network have in 2019 to help hospitals “build their own internet presence”? With these questions in mind, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) conducted an exclusive interview with Kuang Hua, founder of Liankong Network.

In 2015, regarded by industry insiders as the year when mobile healthcare exploded, the internet had already matured enough to be integrated into and utilized by medical institutions. Thus, mobile payment and mobile settlement services at hospital checkout counters quietly entered our daily lives.

Behind the emergence of new products, there are always companies driving them. In this process, Alipay, as a leader in mobile payments, would certainly not miss this opportunity. At that time, Alipay was undergoing its own transformation and upgrading while further expanding its market. To enter the healthcare niche more quickly, it had to rely on industry partners. Thus, it partnered with Shanghai Liankong Network Technology Co., Ltd.

Liankong Network leveraged Alipay’s platform to co-develop a standard Service Window, addressing payment issues in outpatient care. Before long, Kuang Hua realized that a standalone Service Window was insufficient for resolving major challenges. In his view, the internet is a process of continuous iteration and updating; only through constant upgrades and evolution can one avoid being eliminated.

In 2016, Liankong Network and Alipay jointly launched “Future Hospital 2.0.” Compared with the previous version, on the one hand, Liankong Network expanded payment scenarios from the online-only Service Window model to an omnichannel approach covering both online and offline settings; on the other hand, it integrated additional Alipay services, such as installment payments and nearby parking. In the same year, Alipay and Liankong Network, in collaboration with Shanghai Huashan Hospital, unveiled China’s first medical care model supporting installment payments.

After two years of development, Liankong Network has achieved certain accomplishments, yet several issues remain. A significant challenge is the one-sided emphasis on serving patients, resulting in low participation from hospitals. Consequently, in 2017, Liankong Network proposed the concept of “Building Hospitals’ Own Internet” to assist medical institutions in their digital transformation and upgrading. During the same period, it launched the “Liankong Yi+” product to reduce reliance on a single platform. The “Liankong Yi+” product enables cross-platform integration, thereby eliminating dependence on any single platform. In the process of interfacing with hospitals, it supports not only Alipay but also simultaneous integration with other third-party resources such as WeChat and UnionPay.

On the other hand, by 2017, hospitals of all sizes across China had already developed their own mobile apps, Alipay Life Accounts, or WeChat Official Accounts. However, the functionality offered by many of these platforms remained superficial; for instance, some hospitals used them solely for appointment scheduling. In response to this limitation, Liankong Network proposed a decentralized approach, deconstructing each service within the healthcare scenario into individually refined products. These are embedded as plugins into existing applications, thereby enhancing the entire patient journey with comprehensive functionalities without disrupting the underlying systems.

At that time, Liankong Network had gradually “de-emphasized” Alipay and began to pursue the path of building its own independent brand.

By 2018, Liankong Network officially introduced the “Be Yourself” initiative, aiming to foster user recognition of the Liankong brand and eliminate its reliance on any third-party brands.

In Kuang Hua’s view, all of this was a natural progression. “I don’t believe we have been undergoing continuous transformation. We have simply been helping hospitals leverage internet technology to reshape their service models and processes,” Kuang Hua told VCBeat. Over the years, two key drivers have propelled the evolution of Liankong Network. The first was its early in-depth collaboration with Alipay, which enabled rapid business growth by leveraging Alipay’s brand influence. In later stages, driven by considerations of its own value proposition, Liankong Network set out to build its own brand.

Secondly, in the process of serving hospitals and assisting them in patient care, the overall internet environment and its maturity have been evolving, with demands becoming increasingly sophisticated. Kuang Hua stated, “Initially, simply transitioning payment methods to mobile payments was considered a significant improvement. However, as implementation progressed, mobile payment has evolved from a highlight feature into an essential tool. Only by continuously launching new products can we avoid being left behind by the times.”

To enhance its capabilities, in 2018, Liankong Network launched two core solutions:

First is unattended service, which includes online mini-programs combined with offline self-service devices featuring facial recognition and facial payment. Based on the practice implemented by Shanghai Liankong Network Technology Co., Ltd. at the Shanghai Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital, patients can access the electronic medical card mini-program by scanning a QR code. Relevant information is pushed to them during appointment registration, payment, report checking, or queueing. If payment is required, they can use “Direct Payment at Consultation” to save time spent queuing for final payment.

Second is unified payment. Kuang Hua told VCBeat that integration errors frequently occur during mobile payment processes. Since legacy payment systems and current third-party payment platforms operate in different network environments, transaction inconsistencies may arise between the two parties, leading to a high risk of shortfalls (i.e., final monetary discrepancies). Shanghai Liankong Network Technology Co., Ltd. addresses this by combining fault-tolerant processing systems with shortfall indemnification guarantees, thereby helping hospitals achieve zero-error transactions.

Furthermore, given the high prevalence of mobile payments, the complexity of payment channels and fund flows has made final accounting and statistical analysis cumbersome for hospitals. To address this, Liankong Network has introduced a reconciliation feature to help hospitals streamline and clarify their financial records.

This year, Liankong Network has largely established the foundation of its brand. It is reported that Liankong Network launched and implemented three comprehensive solutions—unified payment, unattended services, and internet hospital—and successfully issued the first electronic prescription in collaboration with China Resources Group.

Out of curiosity, the reporter asked Kuang Hua a question: “Will Alipay be unhappy that you’re out having fun on your own?”

Kuang Hua explained with a laugh on the other end of the phone that, on one hand, Liankong Network aims to address the needs of hospitals, which expect the company to help resolve their relevant issues. In addition, patients require comprehensive services through various channels. On the other hand, Liankong Network is collaborating with Alipay to develop in-depth products by integrating Alipay’s foundational offerings with healthcare-specific solutions, thereby creating products that reflect Alipay’s unique characteristics. For instance, leveraging Alipay’s installment payment feature, Liankong Network has developed its application in medical scenarios; furthermore, by building upon Alipay’s password-free payment functionality, it has conducted secondary development to introduce direct payment at the point of care.

After three years of accumulation and consolidation, 2019 marked the beginning of a new three-year phase for Liankong Network. Kuang Hua stated that 2019 would be a year of robust growth for the “Internet + Healthcare” industry. Following two years of deflationary adjustment, favorable policy tailwinds and the development trend of industrial internet will drive rapid industry expansion, ushering the internet healthcare market into a new round of intense competition among major players.

Kuang Hua stated that in the new year, Liankong Network would remain down-to-earth and continue to conduct in-depth research and development on its products, helping medical institutions rapidly build new patient service processes and models based on mobile internet. This aims to achieve online payment, online workflows, online services, and online medical care, ultimately realizing the “Online Hospital.”

From a product perspective, Liankong Network will delve deep into hospital operations to help optimize service processes and transform service models, thereby enhancing hospital efficiency and fundamentally reshaping the patient experience of queuing for medical consultations and payments.

From a process perspective, Liankong Network will reengineer the entire in-hospital medical treatment workflow and service model on the basis of upgrading the hospital’s overall payment system.

From a market perspective, Liankong Network will continue to prioritize partnerships with high-quality regions and premium hospitals.

It is reported that Liankong Network currently serves 150 hospitals at Level II and above, covering 21 provinces and municipalities across China. It is expected to expand into three additional regions in 2019.