Zhongda Hospital Pioneers Cardless Medical Insurance Payment in Nanjing, Advancing Smart Healthcare Accessibility

According to VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat), Zhongda Hospital successfully launched online medical insurance payment this March. It is the first pilot hospital in Nanjing to explore card-free medical insurance payments, having begun its pilot program in November 2017 and officially passing acceptance in March 2018.

So, what conveniences will the activation of card-free medical insurance payment at the hospital bring to patients? What is its significance? In addition, what other initiatives has Zhongda Hospital undertaken in the realm of smart healthcare?

Zhongda Hospital was founded in 1935, with its predecessor being the Affiliated Hospital of the Medical School of National Central University. It has undergone several important historical stages, including serving as the Affiliated Hospital of the Fifth Military Medical University, the PLA No. 84 Hospital, and the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Railway Medical College.

Although the name of Zhongda Hospital has been changed multiple times,Yet, it has produced numerous renowned experts throughout history, including many academicians such as Qi Shounan, Jiang Sichang, Zhang Disheng, Mou Shanchu, Yin Yuzhang, Wang Shiwen, He Lin, and Yang Huanming.Many scholars and experts have studied or taught on this campus, establishing a rich cultural heritage and a tradition of diligent study and rigorous research.

After 83 years of development, it has become a large comprehensive teaching hospital integrating medical care, education, and scientific research. It is the only affiliated hospital of a university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education and included in the national “985” and “211” Key Construction Programs in Jiangsu Province, as well as one of the first general Grade A tertiary hospitals in Jiangsu Province to pass the accreditation by the Ministry of Health.

The process by which Zhongda Hospital enabled insurance payment without physical cards is as follows:

Currently, there are two categories of individuals eligible for cardless payment under the medical insurance scheme: one category includes urban employee and resident basic medical insurance beneficiaries in Nanjing who are entitled to general outpatient pooling benefits; the other category, covering patients with chronic or special outpatient conditions, retired cadres, and maternity-related services, is currently undergoing pilot testing and system debugging.

Medical insurance patients can easily complete the entire medical consultation process by simply linking their medical insurance cards to their mobile phones. Meanwhile, the reporter learned from the hospital that time-slot appointments and online payments are currently available through the “My Nanjing” app and the hospital’s WeChat official account, allowing patients to schedule visits according to their own arrangements and pay without queuing. Furthermore, all procedures—including registration, payment, and retrieval of laboratory and imaging reports—can be completed via the app.

According to the hospital, the process for making medical insurance payments without a physical card is straightforward: users simply need to link their accounts, grant authorization, and enable online payment functionality.

Specific Procedure: Open the “My Nanjing” app, select a major hospital under Health & Medical Insurance Payment, choose the campus for medical visits and grant authorization. Re-enter the “My Nanjing” app to activate online medical insurance payment; your social security card information will be automatically added to the Cardholder Management section.

For Zhongda Hospital,The Significance of Enabling Online Medical Insurance Payments: Three Key Points：

First, promote the development of real-name registration.By establishing health records uniquely linked to ID numbers through real-name registration, patients can board the “Smart Healthcare” express train and enjoy a new model of convenient and efficient medical care.

Second, promote the development of "Internet + Healthcare."Internet healthcare is accelerating the shift from a hospital-centric, patient-waiting model to a patient-centric, collaborative network service, thereby promoting the co-construction and sharing of high-quality medical resources to meet the personalized healthcare needs of diverse populations.

Third, promote the development of "one-click payment."By leveraging the e-wallet of the “My Nanjing” app as a platform, users’ medical insurance accounts and personal e-wallet accounts are linked for integrated management, requiring only a single password entry per transaction. Researching and exploring this payment method, along with its practical application, holds significant importance for advancing online medical insurance payments.

In fact, this is just a glimpse of the smart healthcare initiatives at Zhongda Hospital. Since 2014, Zhongda Hospital has centered its efforts on smart healthcare, successively launching services such as a patient-facing mobile app (“Health Grid”), WeChat official account, enterprise account, in-hospital medical staff mobile workstations, the hospital’s official website, and medical consortium platforms, thereby making medical care more accessible and convenient for residents.

Taking appointment registration as an example, Zhongda Hospital has established seven channels to facilitate patient access to medical care.

1. Telephone Appointment: Call the Appointment and Medical Service Center at 025-83272114 (Main Campus) or 025-57069069 (Jiangbei Campus); alternatively, contact the Nanjing Health Hotline at 025-12320.

2. Online Appointment: Log in to the official website of our hospital (www.njzdyy.com) and enter the “Appointment Registration” interface to make an appointment; or log in to the “Nanjing Health 12320 Website” (www.nj12320.org) to make an appointment.

3. Appointment Registration via Official WeChat Subscription Account: Follow the official WeChat subscription account of Zhongda Hospital (WeChat ID: njzdyy). In the “Self-Service” module, tap to enter “Service Portal,” and select “Appointment Registration.”

4. On-site Appointment: Main Campus: Outpatient Department, 2nd Floor, Appointment and Medical Service Center; Jiangbei Campus: Outpatient Department, 1st Floor, One-Stop Service Center.

5. Mobile App Appointment: Download and install the "Health Grid" app on your mobile phone.

6. In-Consultation Appointment Scheduling: After the patient's visit, the attending physician registers the appointment for the next outpatient consultation based on the patient's condition.

7. Appointment for Post-Discharge Follow-up: Patients shall schedule a follow-up appointment with their attending physician upon discharge and register using the post-discharge follow-up appointment slip.

On January 31, 2018, Jiangsu’s first Artificial Intelligence Medical Joint Laboratory was established at Zhongda Hospital. This followed the formal signing of a strategic cooperation agreement between the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government and Tencent in Nanjing, under which both parties will jointly advance the “Internet Plus” initiative, promote the integration of the real economy with the digital economy, and accelerate the development of “Smart Jiangsu.” In the field of smart healthcare, Zhongda Hospital affiliated to Southeast University signed an agreement with Tencent’s Internet Plus Business Department. Leveraging their existing technologies and achievements, the two parties aim to gradually develop a systematic and mature “Comprehensive Smart Hospital Solution,” working together to establish Zhongda Hospital as a benchmark model for integrated smart hospitals.

It is reported that the two parties have initiated their collaboration by conducting research on the application of artificial intelligence in assisted medical diagnosis and treatment, and have jointly established the “Tencent Internet+ Medical Big Data Research and Demonstration Base.” Leveraging Zhongda Hospital’s resources and accumulated expertise in the healthcare sector, along with Tencent’s “Internet+” big data storage, mining, and application technologies, the base will jointly carry out research projects related to big data.

In terms of providing convenient and patient-centered services, we leverage Tencent’s platform advantages, big data analytics capabilities, high-quality online operational resources, and seamless payment solutions to build a mobile platform for Zhongda Hospital. This initiative aims to better meet patients’ service needs and align with the hospital’s development plans, thereby enhancing Zhongda Hospital’s public service reputation and brand image.

Furthermore, Zhongda Hospital will be the first to implement a full-process smart hospital system, leveraging WeChat’s payment capabilities and account infrastructure to enable mobile medical insurance payments and cross-regional settlement for the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme.

This time, Zhongda Hospital successfully pioneered the pilot program for card-free medical insurance payments, further enabling patients to complete medical consultations at their “fingertips,” making healthcare more convenient and efficient, and building smart medical services and health undertakings.