Key Highlights and Recent Developments in the 'Internet + Healthcare' Industry

Following Premier Li Keqiang’s presiding over the State Council executive meeting on April 12, which confirmed measures to develop “Internet + Healthcare,” the State Council Information Office held a routine policy briefing on April 16 to introduce the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of “Internet + Healthcare” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”). With a flurry of major announcements, various news reports and discussions have been widespread. VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has compiled the key viewpoints from recent days.

Medical institutions are permitted to develop internet hospitals and may use "internet hospital" as their secondary name, allowing online follow-up consultations for certain common and chronic diseases. Meanwhile, qualified third-party organizations are supported in establishing internet information platforms to provide telemedicine services.

Promote the intelligent and informatized development and application of family doctor contract services, conduct contracting services online, and provide health consultations, appointment-based referrals, follow-up care for chronic diseases, health management, and extended prescriptions.

“The Opinion” clarifies that after prescriptions issued online have been reviewed by pharmacists, medical institutions and pharmaceutical distributors may entrust qualified third-party agencies to handle delivery.

Gradually expand online payment functionalities, including cross-regional settlement and one-stop settlement, to facilitate medical care for patients.

Encourage the advancement of research, development, and application to improve the efficiency of healthcare services.

Strictly implement the Cybersecurity Law, improve security control mechanisms, strengthen security protection for emerging technologies, ensure personal privacy security, and establish a comprehensive system for personal privacy protection.

Relevant authorities will introduce administrative measures to regulate online diagnosis and treatment practices, clearly define the baseline for regulatory oversight, and establish a mechanism for sharing medical liability. All diagnosis and treatment processes will be fully documented, the procedures of medical services will be made transparent, and the respective responsibilities of personnel involved in delivering medical services will be clearly defined.

On this issue, Jiao Yahui, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Medical Administration and Hospital Management, provided an authoritative answer. She pointed out that, according to the "Opinions," there are two models for internet hospitals.

The first model designates medical institutions as the primary service providers, leveraging internet information technology to extend the temporal and spatial reach of their services, with the internet hospital serving as a secondary name for the medical institution. In accordance with the principle that internet hospitals must deliver actual medical services, the approved clinical specialties of such internet hospitals must align with those of the affiliated physical medical institutions.

The second model is dominated by internet companies. For internet companies that have already applied for an Internet Hospital, it is required to be implemented in a physical medical institution, with consistent online and offline supervision.

Jiao Yahui emphasized that, in accordance with internationally accepted standards,Online initial diagnosis is strictly prohibited.。For follow-up visits, such as those for patients with dermatological conditions, long-term hypertension, or diabetes, physicians can conduct online consultations and issue electronic prescriptions via the internet when the patient’s condition remains unchanged and generally stable over the long term, provided that the physician has access to the relevant medical records.

However, there are certain diseases, such asTumors, Pediatric DiseasesIt is difficult for physicians to make accurate judgments solely via the Internet. Providing diagnosis and treatment services online for such conditions carries significant risks; therefore, patients are advised to seek in-person consultation at a medical institution.

Deputy Director of the Education, Science, Culture, Health and Sports Committee of the National People's CongressLiuQian believes thatThe answer is no.He noted that the current scale of various internet hospitals is relatively small, with negligible market share, making them unable to compete with one another for the time being. Unless hospitals and physicians have direct financial incentives in areas such as online appointment scheduling, result inquiries, consultation and follow-up visits, medical insurance settlement, and outflow of prescriptions, “Internet + Healthcare” will not go far; it can only serve as a supplementary technological tool. He emphasized that the requirement stipulated in the Opinions to rely on physical institutions is not difficult to meet, and internet companies can seekAn offline institution affiliation. The real challenge lies in how to attract users, drive active engagement among doctors and patients, and identify a sustainable business model.

Jiao Yahui believes that “Internet + Healthcare” may driveDifficulty in Registering for AppointmentsThe issue is fundamentally resolved. Hospitals can leverage internet technology by developing their own mobile apps and joining the appointment registration platforms established by health and family planning administrative departments, thereby pooling their appointment slots into a shared resource pool. Patients can conveniently register for appointments via the internet, mobile phones, or telephone. Furthermore, internet-based precise scheduling facilitates better implementation of time-slot appointment systems for diagnosis and treatment.

Another issue isHospital Queuing. Establishing through "Internet + Healthcare"Smart Hospital,Patients can complete the entire medical consultation process using only a smartphone. They can schedule appointments online and visit the physician’s office at the designated time. After examinations are scheduled, mobile payments can be made directly within the consultation room. In some regions, medical insurance cards are linked to these platforms, allowing patients to pay their out-of-pocket expenses seamlessly. Patients can also access their test and examination results online from home, eliminating the need to return to the hospital to collect films and reports, which offers great convenience. This service model has already been implemented in most tertiary hospitals across China. The “Opinions” require that all secondary-level hospitals and above leverage internet technologies to provide convenient services for patients.

According to Securities Network, on April 16, International Medicine signed the “New Healthcare” Innovation Cooperation Agreement with Alibaba (China) Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary Ali Health Technology (China) Co., Ltd., along with agreements to jointly invest in and build the “Ali Health Xi’an High-Tech Internet Hospital” and co-establish a “Medical Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.”

Both parties will jointly develop the five major implementation projects of “New Healthcare,” including“Ali Health Xi’an High-Tech Internet Hospital,” “Group Private Cloud,” “Medical Artificial Intelligence Laboratory,” “International Medical Smart Hospital,” and “Silk Road Health Cloud Platform.”

Neusoft Corporation Takes the Lead in Deep Strategic Layout and Comprehensive Development.In the hospital sector, Neusoft Group has won the bid for the information technology construction project of the new campus relocation and expansion of Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University. In the internet hospital sector, Neusoft is actively building offline Xikang Health Management Centers, achieving integration of online and offline medical health services, payment systems, and pharmaceutical supply chains; currently, the revenue from Ningbo Cloud Hospital has reached a significant scale. In the commercial insurance sector, Neusoft Group has established in-depth cooperative relationships with Ping An, PICC, Taikang, and other insurers.

Winning Health: Multi-Point Layout and Coordinated Development.In 2016, Winning Health introduced a strategic initiative for internet-based medical and healthcare cloud services, proposing the “4+1” strategy: implementing internet-oriented transformations across four key sectors—medical services, insurance, health management, and pharmaceuticals—while building an “Internet + Big Health” ecosystem. Simultaneously, it established a unified service platform for hospitals to integrate with external medical services. Furthermore, Winning Health won the bid for the Fujian Provincial Hospital’s project on the standardized maturity assessment of information interoperability, and its subsidiary, Nali Health, has extended its coverage to more than 1,500 hospitals.

Multiple Listed Companies Enhance Data Mining and Analytics Capabilities.MediTech won the bid for the HIMSS7 Anesthesia and Critical Care System project at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University; Heren Technology won the bid for the Data Center Platform Construction Project at Tianjin Medical University Sino-Singapore Eco-City Hospital; B-Soft won the bid for the Medical Big Data Mining and Analysis Platform Project at the Union Hospital affiliated with Fujian Medical University.

Haiahong HoldingsCollaborated with 10 commercial insurance companies to provide and charge for medical, pharmaceutical, and personal health management services tailored to specific populations.

Jiuyuan YinhaiIn Tianjin, we have partnered with six commercial insurance companies and more than ten hospitals to implement direct billing and expedited claims services for commercial insurance. The company charges commercial insurers based on hospital size or the number of settlements.

Ping An GroupCentered on data and technology, the company has built a comprehensive big health ecosystem encompassing commercial insurance, medical insurance services, Health Cloud, and health management and medical services. On the medical insurance front, it has developed products such as the City One-Account Pass, medical insurance cost-control systems, and underwriting systems, while deeply collaborating with partners like Neusoft Corporation and Jiuyuan Yinhai to pioneer new business models.

On the pharmaceutical sales front, internet healthcare platforms provide pharmacies with a compliant and stable source of electronic prescriptions, enhancing their service capabilities while attracting consumers with more precise demands. In turn, offline pharmacies help internet healthcare platforms access broader offline traffic, refine their pharmaceutical sales services, and deliver a better service experience for patients.

such as those under Laobaixing Pharmacy and WeDoctorWuzhen Internet HospitalExpand cooperation: Wuzhen Internet Hospital’s “Pharmacy-Clinic-Store” model has helped nearly 20,000 pharmacies across China upgrade into healthcare service and health management centers at residents’ doorsteps, serving over 46,000 people daily.