Amid New Internet Healthcare Regulations, MedLinker Accelerates Internet Hospital Expansion and Files IPO Prospectus
On September 12, the National Health Commission issued three landmark documents concerning online diagnosis and treatment, internet hospitals, and telemedicine (hereinafter referred to as the “New Policies”), marking the first set of implementation rules formulated by the relevant authorities for the “Internet + Healthcare” industry.
Shortly after the new policy was introduced, Yilian announced a strategic partnership with Beijing Jingdu Children's Hospital. The two parties will join forces to establish China’s first pediatric internet hospital, making it the first internet hospital project to be unveiled following the policy’s release and drawing significant attention from the industry.
Medlinker was founded in 2014, a year regarded within the industry as “Year One of Mobile Health Startups.” Fueled by capital investment, the mobile health sector experienced a period of “wild growth” in 2014. However, from the cash-burning wars of 2015 to the “capital winter” of 2016, factors such as unclear profitability models and the inability of simple “doctor-patient connectivity” to address core pain points in the healthcare industry led to a wave of shutdowns in the mobile health sector in 2017. Data shows that more than 1,000 mobile health companies were deregistered in 2017 alone, leaving fewer than 50 “survivors” in the industry by the end of that year.
In 2017, innovators in mobile healthcare believed that internet hospitals would represent a new growth point for business, with the potential to become a new driving force for the industry. In March 2017, fifteen internet companies, including Medlinker, DXY, and Chunyu Doctor, jointly went to Yinchuan to co-establish internet hospitals with the local government, marking a landmark event that signaled a nationwide surge in internet hospital development. According to media data statistics, the number of internet hospitals registered in the first half of 2017 alone exceeded the total for the entire year of 2016.
However, in early May 2017, an informal and non-public draft for comments was leaked, stating that “internet hospitals, cloud hospitals, and online hospitals that had already received approval shall be revoked within 15 days after the issuance of these Measures.” Headlines such as “Internet Hospitals Halted” quickly dominated media coverage, plunging internet hospital-related companies into collective silence. Although business operations were not significantly affected, Wang Shirui, founder and CEO of Medlinker, which was undergoing its Series C financing at the time, still described that period as the “darkest hour.”
In that year, Medlinker did not aggressively launch a large number of internet hospitals. Instead, it took a different approach by launching the Medlinker Internet Hospital Open Platform in March 2017. This platform provided third-party institutions with medical personnel and healthcare service needs with a comprehensive closed-loop solution spanning from medical consultation to pharmaceutical delivery. This open platform laid the foundation for what is now the prototype of Medlinker’s Smart Internet Hospital, establishing the groundwork for the rapid growth of its internet hospital business this year, as policy uncertainties began to clear.
On April 28 this year, the General Office of the State Council issued the “Opinions on Promoting the Development of ‘Internet + Medical Health’” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”). It is widely believed within the industry that the issuance of these Opinions signifies the government’s formal endorsement of the business model of internet hospitals.
Capitalizing on favorable policy developments, Medlinker rapidly deployed its internet hospital-related services and soon announced a strategic partnership with the People’s Government of Rizhao City, Shandong Province, to provide comprehensive smart healthcare services to the city. In July, Medlinker Huafang Internet Hospital was officially launched. Meanwhile, Medlinker’s Internet Hospital Open Platform successively established collaborations with Baidu, Sogou, China Construction Bank, Beijing 114, Dingdang Kuaiyao, Yaoshibang, and other enterprises, offering a range of medical services including online health consultations with physicians.
In terms of market developments, the inaugural Medlink Summit, organized by WeDoctor, was held in Beijing in May. The conference invited dozens of leaders and experts from the National Health Commission, China Electronic Data, multinational pharmaceutical companies, and top-tier (Grade 3A) hospitals. Centered on the theme “Breaking Through · Establishing the New,” they discussed industry-wide changes driven by new policies on “Internet + Healthcare,” explored the development trajectory of China’s “Internet + Healthcare” sector under the current landscape, and examined the true core value of “Internet + Healthcare” from a comparative perspective between China and the West, emphasizing the importance of grounding internet-based medical services in physical healthcare entities.
The new policy released on September 12 clearly emphasizes the importance of offline entities in internet healthcare, giving rise to two diametrically opposed viewpoints within the industry. One side welcomes the move, arguing that internet healthcare will escape the chaotic phase of unregulated growth and enter a virtuous cycle of standardized development. The other side is pessimistic, contending that internet healthcare companies will be downgraded from super-platforms to mere technology providers, while well-resourced public hospitals may even build their own internet hospitals, thereby completely sidelining existing internet healthcare firms.
In a previous interview with the media, Wang Shirui stated that these three documents represent the most “detailed” policies issued by the state to date for the “Internet + Healthcare” sector. They have helped clarify the future development direction for the internet healthcare industry and enterprises, holding profound significance for the entire medical sector. The new regulations have largely brought about positive impacts—making the internet healthcare industry more standardized and orderly, accelerating industry consolidation, curbing unchecked growth in favor of rational development, and fostering deeper integration between the internet and healthcare sectors, thereby providing tangible convenience for patients seeking medical care.
Medlinker’s smart internet-based solutions encompass a physician management system, electronic medical record (EMR) system, online payment system, remote follow-up system, e-prescription system, and health insurance cost-control system. Leveraging medical big data resources and artificial intelligence capabilities, Medlinker has established a comprehensive technical architecture for hospitals. Beyond technological support, Medlinker also provides robust operational services to hospitals, including access to physician resources, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumables. Relying on its internet hospital platform, Medlinker offers patients services such as online physician consultations and offline medication delivery.
The Medlinker-Huafang Internet Hospital, which went online in July this year, is jointly built by Medlinker and the Rizhao Huafang Traditional Chinese Medicine Branch. It has attracted four National Medical Masters, represented by Professor Zhang Daning, as well as approximately 600 physicians to join its platform, establishing a new model for online-offline resource collaboration in the healthcare sector.
Wang Shirui believes that future internet healthcare scenarios will definitely center on patient-centric, end-to-end management, covering the entire healthcare journey—including appointment scheduling, laboratory and imaging tests, online consultations, follow-up visits, referrals and multidisciplinary consultations, medical record management, and chronic disease management. Internet hospitals can serve as an excellent platform for this comprehensive process. In the future, Yilian will continue to enhance its patient-centric, end-to-end management system, building a full industry chain focused on smart internet hospital solutions.