WeDoctor Founder Liao Jieyuan Releases Open Letter on the 3rd Anniversary of Wuzhen Internet Hospital
On December 7, marking the third anniversary of the operation of Wuzhen Internet Hospital, Liao Jieyuan, founder and CEO of WeDoctor and creator of Wuzhen Internet Hospital, published an open letter on his personal health account within the WeDoctor App. In the letter, he reviewed a series of key milestones achieved since the establishment of Wuzhen Internet Hospital and expressed gratitude to its supporters.
On December 7, 2015, the Wuzhen Internet Hospital, the first internet hospital in China jointly established by the Tongxiang Municipal People’s Government and WeDoctor, officially opened its doors. It pioneered a series of integrated healthcare services, including online appointment scheduling, remote consultation, e-prescribing, medication delivery, and online medical insurance settlement. This marked the transition of China’s new internet hospital sector from zero to one, ushering in a period of rapid development.
Time has proven the power of perseverance and provided pioneers with the best answers. On April 28 this year, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting the Development of 'Internet + Healthcare'," allowing the development of internet hospitals based on medical institutions and promoting the deep integration of healthcare and the internet. Subsequently, the National Health Commission and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly released the "Administrative Measures for Internet Hospitals (Trial)," incorporating the business model created by Wuzhen Internet Hospital into policy.
The full text of the open letter is as follows:
Innovative Productivity, More Innovative Production Relations
——On the Third Anniversary of Wuzhen Internet Hospital
To Every Dream Chaser:
Greetings!
On December 7, 2015, the Wuzhen Internet Hospital emerged amidst challenges and high expectations. After 874 days, this “Xiaogang Village” at the head of Wuzhen Bridge finally received the definitive endorsement from Zhongnanhai: on April 28, 2018, “Internet hospitals” were formally included in a State Council policy document, establishing them as a new business model under the “Internet + Healthcare” initiative. To date, the Wuzhen Internet Hospital has been in operation for exactly three years. Time has proven the power of perseverance and provided the pioneers with the best possible answer.
Having grown up in the countryside and later moved to the city for education and work, I have personally experienced the hardships ordinary people face when seeking medical care, as my family and I traveled extensively in search of treatment. At that time, the internet was transforming every aspect of life, and healthcare was no longer a monolithic system. In 2010, by starting with free appointment registration services, we deployed front-end servers in hospitals across China, moving hospital counter services online and extensively connecting hospitals, doctors, and patients. We later realized that to fundamentally address these issues, it was necessary to drive changes in production relations on the basis of improved industry productivity, break down information and service silos, and establish an integrated service channel spanning medical care, pharmaceuticals, and health insurance.
Wuzhen Internet Hospital has become the bearer of this mission. Three years ago today, we established the first internet hospital in Wuzhen, comprehensively launching our exploration of the entire “Internet + Healthcare” process, including online follow-up consultations, remote consultations, online prescriptions, and online medical insurance settlement. There were admirers, onlookers, and skeptics alike, but for dream-chasers, the only thing to believe in is “action.” Shortly after its opening, in his keynote address at the 2nd World Internet Conference, President Xi Jinping highlighted Wuzhen Internet Hospital as a microcosm of China’s innovative development in the internet sector. This provided direction for the nascent internet healthcare industry and further strengthened our confidence in forging ahead.
Upholding integrity and pragmatism, we have remained committed to achieving long-term success. Over the past three years, starting from Wuzhen, we have launched internet hospitals in 19 provinces and municipalities across China, comprehensively advancing the implementation of integrated online-offline healthcare services covering pre-diagnosis, during-diagnosis, and post-diagnosis stages. We have collaborated closely with leading institutions such as Huashan Hospital, Tiantan Hospital, and Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine Affiliated Hospitals, currently establishing referral channels with over 700 large hospitals nationwide, significantly enhancing collaboration efficiency among medical institutions. We have built a regional intelligent tiered diagnosis and treatment platform to promote the implementation of basic public health services, family doctor contracting, and health poverty alleviation initiatives, empowering primary care physicians through artificial intelligence, the General Practice Academy, and remote consultation platforms. Furthermore, we have established five General Practice Centers in Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and another city, extending healthcare service scenarios to households, enterprises, communities, and grassroots levels through terminals such as Weiyi Tong, pharmacy-clinics, and cloud mobile clinic vehicles. This has facilitated the sharing of medical resources and service coordination on a national scale, pioneering the creation of a Chinese-style Health Maintenance Organization (HMO).
Over the past three years, via the Wuzhen Internet Hospital platform, specialists in Wuhan have cured the “mysterious illness” of Aunt An from Hunan Province, who had previously been unable to find medical help; Parkinson’s disease experts at a Xi’an hospital have become “star doctors” among patients nationwide; medical experts in Hangzhou have connected across 16,000 kilometers with Antarctic research expedition members through virtual consultations; physicians at Shandong Provincial Third Hospital regularly monitor the health of enrolled users through the internet hospital; and village doctors in Jia County, Henan Province, have grown accustomed to prescribing medications with the assistance of artificial intelligence. Technology is infusing healthcare services with greater warmth, and this transformation is taking place among every white-clad angel we serve.
Looking Back on Three Years: Grateful for the Journey with YouWe extend our gratitude for the encouragement from national policies, the care and guidance from leaders at all levels, and the fertile ground for internet innovation in Wuzhen, which have helped the sparks of innovation grow into a prairie fire. We thank the 2,700 hospitals, 260,000 doctors, and 180 million users on our platform for their trust, which has strengthened our steps toward innovation. We appreciate the full collaboration of our industry partners in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and medical devices, which has made “Internet + Healthcare” a widespread trend. And we thank the 3,000 employees of WeDoctor for their hard work, which has reinforced our original aspiration to make “medical access easier and health management more effective.”
A New Three-Year Journey Begins: WeDoctor Team Embarks with Gratitude from a New Starting Point, Looking Forward to Continuing the Journey with You!
WeDoctor Founder and CEO: Liao Jieyuan
December 7, 2018, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang