Langma Information Unveils 2017 Strategy: Building an Integrated Ecosystem Connecting Doctors, Medical Institutions, and Pharmaceutical Distribution

Since late 2013, Langma Information has been transitioning into the internet healthcare sector, completing its initial business layout in this field by early 2016 and undergoing three years of intensive cultivation. As a dedicated practitioner in internet healthcare, Langma Information continued to leverage its “strategic foresight” in 2016 to drive the development of the industry. Meanwhile, it elevated “reverence for medicine” to the level of corporate values for the first time, thereby standardizing its role as a committed player in the internet healthcare sector.

In the process of exploring and promoting the development of internet healthcare, whether pursuing novel business models, rational product forms, and significant profit growth, or chasing more advanced concepts such as big data, the broader health industry, and medical artificial intelligence, the most fundamental criterion at the strategic level remains that the services provided must maximally meet the needs of the largest possible population.

The primary stakeholders in the healthcare sector are physicians and patients, while other organizations and institutions exist to provide more appropriate support, services, and platforms for these two core groups. Throughout more than three years of exploring internet-based healthcare services, Guiyang Langma Information Technology Co., Ltd. has always been guided by a “reverence for medicine,” seeking the most suitable business logic to meet the needs of physicians and patients and steering the healthcare industry toward development that yields the greatest societal benefit.

Its so-called “benefits” refer to: enhanced professional value for physicians, improved access to medical care for patients, a healthy and orderly competitive environment, more reasonable and transparent fee structures, and more convenient and efficient healthcare processes. Ensuring that internet-based healthcare returns to its core medical roots and adheres to the essence of medicine is the foundation of Langma Information’s “strategic foresight.”

In June 2016, 39 Internet Hospital, a remote consultation platform designed for patients with complex and critical conditions, was officially launched.

39 Internet Hospital is also the first platform in China to propose the “doctor-to-doctor consultation” model: patients can directly book remote consultations with renowned specialists from top-tier (Grade 3A) hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other major cities, enabling multi-party video consultations involving the patient, the primary care physician at the local level, and top medical experts, thereby facilitating the allocation of high-quality medical resources to grassroots hospitals.

Since the launch of the 39 Internet Hospital, it has signed agreements with over 100 primary healthcare institutions, maximizing the support and assistance provided to these facilities through remote consultation models. Currently, the 39 Internet Hospital has engaged more than 1,000 expert-level physicians from over 50 renowned hospitals, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking University-affiliated hospitals, and the PLA General Hospital (301 Hospital). The remote consultations have served thousands of patients with complex and critical conditions across 23 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China, spanning 28 medical specialties.

In the process of exploring remote consultation models, to allow patients’ experience during consultations to approach the medical “on-site presence” as closely as possible, 39 Internet Hospital has further evolved into the most advanced new form currently available: an internet hospital system encompassing multiple service models, including remote ward rounds, remote joint specialist outpatient clinics, imaging consultations, pathology consultations, remote diagnosis and treatment technical guidance, precise triage and appointment scheduling, two-way referrals, remote teaching of classic cases, and precision-based, routine telemedicine for poverty alleviation.

This initiative aligns with the fundamental essence of healthcare. It has tangibly elevated the medical standards of primary care institutions across multiple dimensions, including patient diagnosis and treatment, the enhancement of professional competencies among primary care physicians, and departmental development and teaching. Furthermore, it enables patients receiving treatment at the primary care level to access a broader range of remote services provided by leading specialists, beyond mere remote consultations.

Unlike other internet hospitals, 39 Internet Hospital:

- Focused on connecting and amplifying high-quality, standardized, and safe medical care.

- It is one of the few internet hospitals to have taken the lead in obtaining a Medical Institution Practicing License.

- Mission: To serve grassroots healthcare by leveraging renowned physicians nationwide, helping primary care hospitals retain patients and enhance their capabilities, thereby simplifying access to medical care for patients with complex and severe conditions.

- Zero-cost collaboration with primary care hospitals, providing high-definition video and a convenient mobile platform to build a business cluster centered on remote consultation.

39 Internet Hospital continues to refine its existing business model, facilitating connectivity between renowned specialists and primary care hospitals; implementing precise triage, appointment scheduling, and patient routing; and organizing, linking, and structuring medical data. It is building a systematic, routine, and multi-dimensional medical-grade remote diagnosis and treatment platform.

39 Internet Hospital has continuously innovated its consultation model to implement the national policies on tiered diagnosis and treatment and grassroots healthcare services, and has completed an angel round of financing totaling RMB 70 million.

On September 25, 2015, the Guizhou (Guiyang) Internet Hospital conducted its first online consultation, marking its official establishment and launch, and positioning it among the first tier of internet hospitals in China.

Guizhou Internet Hospital centers on tertiary and secondary hospitals, with community (township) hospitals, village health and family planning service rooms, and physical pharmacies serving as consultation points. This approach makes primary healthcare institutions a natural extension of the Internet hospital, forming a multi-tiered medical service structure characterized by “hospitals + community service centers + village health and family planning service rooms.”

In just over a year, the Guizhou Internet Hospital has provided hundreds of thousands of services to patients in the Guizhou region, with its daily volume of video consultations exceeding 5,000.

Thanks to the ease of use and convenience of remote video consultations, even middle-aged and elderly individuals over the age of 60 in Guizhou can readily utilize this service. They frequently manage their health metrics, such as blood glucose and blood pressure, through remote consultations, conveniently addressing their need for medical advice while running daily errands like buying groceries.

Coinciding with the launch of Guizhou Internet Hospital, the mobile remote consultation platform “Gui Jiankang” App was simultaneously introduced. Currently, Gui Jiankang has been integrated with eight municipal hospitals, including the Guiyang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, and appointment volumes through the platform at some of these hospitals now account for more than 30% of their total outpatient visits.

After acquiring a controlling stake in Guiyang No. 6 People’s Hospital, all of Langma Information’s internet hospitals obtained the legal qualifications for online diagnosis and treatment. The “path” of Langma Information’s internet healthcare has far transcended its own limitations, and it now possesses all the essential conditions for vigorously developing online internet hospitals. Nevertheless, in December 2016, Langma Information chose to continue grounding its efforts in the deep cultivation of offline physical hospitals.

Langma Information plans to raise approximately RMB 650 million for the upgrade and expansion project of Guiyang No. 6 People's Hospital. The plan involves upgrading and expanding existing inpatient, medical technical, and medical support facilities, as well as investing in software and advancing the hospital’s digitalization. Meanwhile, Guiyang No. 6 People's Hospital will procure advanced medical equipment and instruments from both domestic and international sources to meet the standards of a Grade III hospital.

Such substantial investment stems from the robust growth of online business operations. The expert team at 39 Internet Hospital is identical to that of Guiyang Sixth People’s Hospital, providing comprehensive remote and on-site support for patients across outpatient visits, ward rounds, consultations, and surgeries. In light of this, Guiyang Sixth People’s Hospital will prioritize the development of key disciplines such as oncology, cardiology, and orthopedics to strengthen its brand competitiveness. Meanwhile, the hospital has established a dedicated Department of Internet-based Chronic Disease Management, which currently supports clinical services at Guizhou Internet Hospital, serving thousands of patients daily. A significant proportion of these patients belong to high-priority groups requiring close monitoring for chronic diseases.

Langma Information’s deep engagement with Guiyang No. 6 People’s Hospital will fully demonstrate the internet’s amplifying and facilitative role in physical healthcare, achieving “online-offline integration and building a complete closed-loop ecosystem for internet-based medical services.”

In 2014, Langma Information invested RMB 650 million to complete the full acquisition of Guangzhou Qisheng Information Technology Co., Ltd., marking its first step into the internet healthcare sector. 39 Health Network is a brand with a 17-year history in health information. “39 Ask Doctors” pioneered the lightweight consultation model and is China’s leading online Q&A platform for healthy living. The Disease Encyclopedia covers 14,502 diseases and symptoms. Drug Connect is a professional and comprehensive website for querying domestic and international pharmaceutical products. Famous Doctors Online, through online Q&A activities, has become the largest online consultation platform featuring renowned physicians in China. The Medical Care Assistant enables online appointment registration with nearly 10,000 experts, provides access to detailed information on tens of thousands of hospitals and doctors across China, offers the most professional medical care guidelines, and facilitates easy booking of specialist appointments.

39 Health has attracted a massive user base through high-quality informational content. Its current monthly reach exceeds 160 million users. In 2016, its daily unique visitors (UV) across PC and mobile platforms surpassed 16 million, while the average daily page views (PV) across all devices exceeded 45 million.

As Langma Information’s internet and physical healthcare businesses continue to deepen, the user traffic value and media brand value of 39 Health Network will be continuously unlocked. Through the deep integration of 39 Health Network with physical healthcare services, users will transition from merely accessing health information to directly connecting with comprehensive healthcare services, thereby significantly enhancing their overall value.

In 2015, Langma Information signed an agreement with Guiyang Hospital Management (Group) Co., Ltd. to jointly establish Guiyang Pharmaceutical E-commerce Service Co., Ltd., engaging in the distribution of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and related products. Subsequently, Guiyang Pharmaceutical E-commerce Service Co., Ltd. acquired 100% equity interest in Guizhou Kangxin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in two separate transactions in August 2016 and December 2016, respectively.

Kangxin Pharmaceutical is a large-scale pharmaceutical distribution enterprise in Guizhou Province, with its business covering the entire supply chain, distribution channels, and terminals of the pharmaceutical circulation industry, achieving a high market coverage rate. It has also participated in the establishment of the Guizhou (Wudang) Big Data Smart Industry Base, effectively expanding the logistics system for health product categories.

At this point, Langma Information can integrate the service loop formed by doctors, medical institutions, and pharmaceutical distribution enterprises into a comprehensive industrial service system for patients, bringing greater convenience to more users.