From One Clinic to 25 and $75 to $5.4M in Annual Revenue: How Bohou Medical Achieved Exponential Growth

Recently, the launch ceremony for Qingdao Bohou Medical Group’s ACHS accreditation was held at the Haitai Wanfeng Hotel in Laoshan District, Qingdao. The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) is an internationally recognized healthcare accreditation organization and one of the three major international healthcare accreditation systems worldwide.

Bohou Medical Group was established in 2010 and launched its community medical services in the second half of 2013, serving over 400,000 community patients. By establishing primary healthcare institutions and Tier-1 medical service centers, the group integrates a range of medical services—including primary care, traditional Chinese and Western medicine diagnosis and treatment, smart home-based elderly care, TCM physiotherapy, telemedicine, genetic testing, cardiovascular screening, and pediatrics—to create a community-based micro-circulation ecosystem for healthcare, thereby providing essential medical services to community residents.

Bohou Medical Group currently operates 25 community healthcare institutions, offering core services such as outpatient care, chronic disease management, and home-based elderly care. Its founder, Yan Honghui, holds a graduate degree in Healthcare Management from the University of Hong Kong, was a member of the inaugural cohort of the CEIBS Healthcare Entrepreneurship Program, and earned an EMBA with a focus on pharmaceuticals from Renmin University of China. With nearly a decade of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, she possesses extensive expertise in areas such as healthcare operations and pharmaceutical distribution.

Furthermore, Bohou Medical provides patients with a variety of healthcare solutions, offering refined health and disease management based on trust, organized by family units and condition-specific communities. This includes establishing primary care databases and introducing genetic testing services.

According to Yan Honghui, when Bo Hou Medical opened its first community health center, customer traffic was extremely low due to insufficient prior experience and a suboptimal location situated halfway up a hill within a residential complex. “The total revenue for the community health center during the first three days of operation was only 75 yuan,” recalled Yan Honghui, who was deeply concerned at the time.

After several years of exploration, the direct-operated chain of Bohou Medical Community Centers has expanded from one to 25 locations, with revenue growing from RMB 75 to RMB 38 million. So, what are the features of its community services? And what benefits will ACHS accreditation bring to it?

Established in 1974, ACHS is dedicated to the continuous assessment of healthcare service performance. Throughout its four-year accreditation cycle, it focuses on healthcare standards and quality, guiding medical institutions in achieving ongoing organizational improvement through the Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program (EQuIP). This initiative helps establish patient-centered service processes, standards, and systems, thereby enhancing patients’ diagnostic and treatment experiences.

To date, ACHS has provided excellent service models to more than 1,600 medical institutions worldwide and has been widely adopted in countries and regions such as Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

The initiation of ACHS accreditation marks that all medical institutions under the BoHou Medical Group will provide services to patients with higher standards. It also ushers in a transformative journey for BoHou Medical Group to align with international high-end medical service standards and enhance patient care experiences. BoHou Medical has become the first community healthcare institution in mainland China to introduce top-tier international medical service accreditation standards, setting a precedent for high-end medical standard certification among community healthcare institutions in mainland China. This move holds significant importance for community healthcare and the development of the entire medical service system.

In Yan Honghui’s view, the service philosophy of “patient-centered care” was established from the very inception of Qingdao Bohou Medical Group, aligning perfectly with the core principles of ACHS accreditation. This alignment is precisely why Mr. Desmand, President of ACHS, firmly supported Bohou Medical Group’s pursuit of ACHS accreditation following his initial visit to the group in October 2016.

The primary healthcare market is vast, and under the national framework of tiered diagnosis and treatment, its future prospects are even more promising. However, constrained by the inherent characteristics of "primary" care, grassroots medical institutions often lack high-level medical personnel, state-of-the-art equipment, and sufficient diagnostic tools, while also facing limitations in physical space and clinical environments. Therefore, providing safer medical services through rigorous process management and meticulous attention to detail becomes particularly crucial in community healthcare. ACHS accreditation, with its focus on the continuous refinement and enhancement of service processes, details, and philosophies, provides an authoritative benchmark and external oversight that best supports the accelerated development of BoHou Medical Group and the control of medical safety risks.

Yan Honghui believes that by advancing and implementing the top-tier medical accreditation standards of ACHS, BoHou Healthcare is poised to rapidly establish a differentiated competitive advantage over other community healthcare institutions within a few years, thereby forming a high-standard medical service system under the BoHou brand and providing safe, high-quality, and accessible medical services to community residents.

Although Bohou Medical is located within a community, it adheres to a comprehensive set of medical service standards. Meanwhile, it offers high-quality services at a low average transaction value (approximately RMB 100). As the level of community-based medical services and quality of care improve, this model will effectively divert patients from tertiary hospitals, thereby achieving the strategic goal of tiered diagnosis and treatment.

To provide patients with higher standards and quality of medical services, Bohou Medical has adopted the ACHS healthcare service standards and has continuously implemented, optimized, and enhanced them throughout the subsequent accreditation process:

1. Provide safe, high-quality services to users/patients throughout the entire medical care process.

Bohou Medical establishes a free health record for every resident in the community. For patients who have previously received care at Bohou Medical’s community clinics, if they return with conditions that cannot be treated on-site, Bohou Medical assists in matching and recommending the most suitable specialists. For diseases beyond the scope of community-level diagnosis and treatment, Bohou Medical offers a green-channel referral process to direct patients to appropriate specialized hospitals or tertiary Grade A hospitals.

2. Provide safe nursing and services: Ensure patient safety through medication management and infection control.

Bohou Medical’s community service institutions implement rigorous control and management of medications and infection sources on a daily basis. From major procedures such as flushing medication administration tubes and hand hygiene practices by nurses, to minor details like the disposal of individual antiseptic cotton swabs, strict management protocols and standardized processes are in place to ensure the medical safety of both healthcare workers and patients.

3. Provide high-quality healthcare services.

Bohou Medical assesses an individual’s potential disease risks from a genetic perspective, taking into account the health status of their entire family. For instance, if the user’s father suffers from hypertension or diabetes, Bohou Medical may determine that the user is at risk of developing these conditions. Accordingly, it provides guidance on preventive measures, including dietary adjustments and exercise regimens, and regularly monitors the user’s blood pressure and blood glucose levels.

4. An efficient information system helps establish strong connections between doctors and patients, providing them with high-quality, precise medical services.

When patients visit community clinics, staff members first conduct tests such as blood pressure and temperature measurements; for diabetic patients, blood glucose testing is also provided. These data are promptly transmitted to the physician’s end, where doctors diagnose the patient’s condition by integrating the current vital signs with historical data from multiple previous visits, thereby making diagnosis and treatment more precise, scientific, and effective.

5. A strong doctor-patient relationship, built on mutual trust and understanding, with BoHou Medical’s attentive care seamlessly integrated throughout the entire diagnosis and treatment process.

Prior to the consultation, for instance, if a patient is scheduled for an ultrasound examination the following morning, BoHou Medical staff must proactively communicate with the patient. They need to first determine the specific type of ultrasound and then inform the patient whether fasting is required.

During consultations, for patients receiving intravenous infusions, nurses will pour them a cup of tea and hand them a book to help pass the time and alleviate boredom during the infusion. For elderly patients who have difficulty climbing stairs, staff members will carry them upstairs on their backs; after the consultation and treatment are completed, they will carry them back downstairs.

In return, patients have shown ample understanding and appreciation. Residents frequently bring fruits such as watermelons to the medical staff at Bohou Medical, regarding these “young people” (the healthcare workers) as working excessively hard. On another occasion, upon hearing that a light fixture at Bohou Medical had malfunctioned, a neighboring uncle silently worked on the repair until 11:00 p.m., leaving only after normal operation was restored.

Thanks to BoHou Medical’s refined services, local residents are also willing to seek diagnosis and treatment at the BoHou Medical Community Center.

According to Yan Honghui, one of the selection criteria for newly opened community centers by Bohou Medical is that they must serve a residential population of 15,000 to 20,000, be located within a 10-minute walking distance for residents, and have a quiet environment.

Each community center is typically staffed with 10–15 personnel, including three nurses, one pharmacist, two physicians, one traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner, one TCM assistant, and support staff. Currently, the BoHou Medical team comprises more than 200 members.

Bohou Medical’s team of over 200 members does not consist entirely of specialists from top-tier tertiary hospitals.“Because experts can both attract and divert patient traffic, I believe that relying on them to retain residents at primary care institutions is not a viable strategy,” said Yan Honghui.

"To attract and retain more medical professionals, Yan Honghui stated, 'In terms of compensation, Bohou Medical offers a service level that is slightly above the industry average.'"

Bohou Medical has always adhered to the philosophy of "relationship-based economics." By maintaining strong ties with local residents in daily operations, Bohou aims to be their first choice whenever health concerns arise. Once trust is established, residents are likely to consolidate all their family’s healthcare spending with Bohou Medical.

Take residents purchasing medication as an example. For minor ailments such as a cold or nasal congestion, residents typically self-medicate by buying over-the-counter drugs at pharmacies. However, Bohou Medical aims to become the first choice for residents, as it not only provides rational medication plans prescribed by physicians but also offers competitive pricing.

Following Yan Honghui’s operational approach, Bohou Medical’s mature stores today,Daily foot traffic ranges from 80 to 100 visits, with many residents queuing up as early as 8:00 a.m. The store spans 200 square meters, and its highest single-day revenue last winter reached RMB 28,000.

“Sales this year are expected to exceed 38 million.” Yan Honghui expressed strong confidence.

With the rapid advancement of China’s tiered diagnosis and treatment policy, BoHou Medical has successfully capitalized on this opportunity. In Yan Honghui’s view, there is no perfect model for primary healthcare; medical services are constantly improving through continuous learning. She places greater emphasis on medical safety and effective treatment. It must be clearly recognized that the primary purpose of patients visiting hospitals or medical institutions is to receive treatment and alleviate physical or psychological suffering. Therefore, BoHou Medical’s service philosophy toward patients is rooted in genuine respect.

Since embarking on the entrepreneurial journey, Yan Honghui’s greatest feeling has been doing what she loves, finding increasing joy with each passing day.When they fall ill, heal their bodies; in daily life, treat residents as friends, regularly show care for them, offer assistance, and engage them in conversations about everyday matters.

Perhaps this is what primary healthcare services should look like.

Looking ahead, Yan Honghui stated, “We hope to fully fund the establishment of 100 chain community health centers, and also share our own experience with more primary healthcare institutions and like-minded peers.”