Baitouen Charity Foundation, Pfizer China, and WeDoctor Launch Internet-Based Initiative to Drive the Turning Point in Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in China

Bethune Public Welfare Foundation, Pfizer China, and WeDoctor Jointly Launch the “Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Patient Health Management Program”

VCBeat has learned that the “Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Patient Health Management Program,” initiated by the Bethune Public Welfare Foundation, supported by Pfizer China, and technically executed and implemented by WeDoctor, was officially launched in Beijing on August 8. The project innovatively provides comprehensive disease management and facilitates doctor-patient interaction for patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and is expected to benefit more than 1 million patients.

Leveraging the WeDoctor Internet healthcare platform, the project offers more than ten services, including disease risk assessment, online consultations, medication reminders, physician guidance, a health community, lectures by renowned experts, appointment scheduling, and popular science education, thereby providing patients with a convenient approach to the scientific management of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Tian Xiaoli, Executive Secretary-General of the Bethune Public Welfare Foundation, stated that the project aims to leverage the joint efforts of the Foundation, Pfizer China, and WeDoctor to provide more scientific support for patients in managing conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. The initiative seeks to increase the diagnosis and treatment rates for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, improve patients’ self-management and treatment adherence, and deliver targeted health education through an “Internet + Disease Management” model, with the ultimate goal of achieving a turning point in mortality rates from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in China at an early date.

Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) is the leading cause of death among Chinese residents. Conditions such as coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke fall within the spectrum of ASCVD. China currently has 13 million stroke patients and 11 million patients with coronary heart disease. Professor Lu Juming from the Department of Endocrinology at the Chinese PLA General Hospital (301 Hospital) pointed out that one of the main reasons for the high event rates and mortality among ASCVD patients is the lack of disease awareness and self-management knowledge among patients and their families, who struggle to find appropriate channels to access scientific and targeted disease information. Even physicians lack effective tools for patient management and education. The launch of the Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Patient Health Management Plan, which integrates an internet healthcare platform, will help improve this situation.

“Patient-centered care” is the prevailing trend in chronic disease management; however, traditional patient management approaches are inefficient and costly. Therefore, truly effective patient management must be integrated with the Internet. Between 2015 and 2016, the General Office of the State Council successively issued the “Guiding Opinions of the State Council on Actively Promoting the ‘Internet Plus’ Action” and the “Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting and Standardizing the Application and Development of Health and Medical Big Data” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”).

The "Opinions" propose the development of smart, convenient, and beneficial health and medical services. They emphasize leveraging the leading role of high-quality medical resources, encouraging participation from non-governmental entities, integrating online and offline resources, and standardizing the management of the Medical Internet of Things (IoMT) and health and medical applications (apps). The "Opinions" call for vigorously promoting applications such as online health consultations, web-based appointment scheduling and triage, mobile payments, query of examination and test results, and follow-up tracking, so as to optimize and establish standardized, shared, and mutually trusted diagnosis and treatment processes.

“At the launch event, Dr. Wu Xiaobin, President of Pfizer Greater China, stated that in Tianjin, which ranks first nationwide in both the number and per capita density of chest pain centers, mortality from acute myocardial infarction has declined, with a turning point already emerging. This further confirms that cardiovascular diseases are preventable and treatable. However, given China’s vast territory and uneven distribution of medical resources, the prevalence and mortality rates of cardiovascular diseases remain on the rise. Therefore, it is imperative to leverage advanced internet-based management systems to deliver services to patients.”

Dr. Wu Xiaobin pointed out that Pfizer has always taken “working together to build a Healthy China” as its mission in China, committed to “becoming an integral part of China’s healthcare system.” Pfizer aims to meet the diverse healthcare needs of the population through innovative and feasible approaches. It is hoped that this project will explore and pioneer a new path in the long-term management of cardiovascular patients in China, helping patients effectively control their diseases, thereby mitigating the year-on-year rise in the incidence and mortality of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in China and accelerating the arrival of the turning point in mortality rates from these conditions.

WeDoctor has accumulated mature internet healthcare technologies and operational capabilities, establishing a dedicated health management zone for patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases by integrating various resources from its platform. Leveraging its technological advantages in internet services and medical artificial intelligence, it precisely delivers popular science content to patients through a big data distribution mechanism.

Su Yingqi, President of WeDoctor, pointed out that delivering big data-driven precision education to patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases can enhance their disease awareness and self-management capabilities, reduce the incidence of adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, and facilitate the transition from passive medical care to proactive health management. This represents one of the core application scenarios of WeDoctor’s intelligent medical cloud platform.