Baidu Doctor Shuts Down as Haodf.com Takes Over; CEO Wang Hang Responds Promptly with Service Transition Details
On February 9, Baidu issued an internal email announcing the closure of its Healthcare Business Unit and implementing organizational restructuring and optimization for its healthcare operations. The Smart Little E team and the Thumb Doctor team from the Healthcare Business Unit were transferred to the AI system, while the content development team was moved to the Search Company. Other businesses within the Healthcare Business Unit will be shut down, with affected employees offered internal transfer opportunities based on the company’s developmental needs. Following the restructuring, Li Zheng, former General Manager of Baidu’s Healthcare Business Unit, will transition to the AI team. Going forward, Baidu’s healthcare initiatives will focus primarily on the field of artificial intelligence.
Baidu’s Healthcare Division has launched numerous products in the medical field, with its healthcare-related services including the Baidu Healthcare Big Data Platform, Baidu Doctor, Baidu Medicine, Thumb Doctor, Baidu Health, Dulife, and Yaozhida. Following the announcement on February 9, all these services have remained operational.
Today, the Baidu Doctor official WeChat account released the “Baidu Doctor Shutdown Announcement,” announcing“Due to business adjustments, Baidu Doctor will discontinue its services and go offline.”
Baidu Doctor announced the timeline and steps for service discontinuation in its announcement:
Effective March 10, 2017, appointment registration, quick consultation, and expert consultation services will be discontinued, and all other third-party provided services will be taken offline; previously generated valid orders may continue to be used normally.
As of March 24, 2017, the Points Mall will be closed, and any remaining points balance will become unusable;
Effective March 31, 2017, the query function will be discontinued, covering all user records including historical orders and health profiles. Please ensure that you back up important data prior to this date to avoid any loss.
On April 1, 2017, the product was officially discontinued and its data was cleared.
Meanwhile, Baidu Doctor announced the follow-up service arrangements for users after its shutdown.
1. Orders submitted prior to service suspension remain unaffected: Successfully booked appointment orders can be used as normal; questions submitted via Quick Consultation and Expert Consultation remain valid, and doctor-patient Q&A interactions within the order validity period are not impacted.
2. If there is a remaining balance from expert consultations, you can download the "Haodifu Smart Internet Hospital" APP, register using the phone number provided when submitting your inquiry, and the balance will be transferred to your new account.
3. Insurance Policies: Active insurance policies will continue to be serviced by the underwriting insurers and are unaffected by the shutdown. For any inquiries regarding insurance policies, please contact the insurer’s customer service hotline.
The full announcement is as follows:
VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) conducted an exclusive interview at the earliest opportunityWang Hang, CEO of Haodf Online, who took over the subsequent user balance transfer service, Wang HangIntroducing to VCBeat the previous collaboration model between Haodf Online and Baidu Doctor。
According to Wang Hang, Haodf Online has built China’s largest online physician platform over the past decade. On the Haodf Online platform, 142,000 physicians who have completed real-name registration and undergone verification and certification can respond to patient inquiries. Over the years, Haodf Online has collaborated with multiple fully qualified internet platforms, such as Sohu, Sina, and Tencent. When patients on these platforms require medical services, they can access Haodf Online’s physician studios through designated entry points to receive professional assistance from physicians. The previous collaboration between Haodf Online and Baidu Doctor was of this nature, with Haodf primarily responsible for delivering physician services. This partnership was based on Baidu Doctor’s standalone app and did not involve Baidu’s search services.
Wang Hang told reporters that Baidu Doctor, like other online consultation apps, is an independent software product. Baidu provides the front-endThe client-side entry point and user database have been established, while the backend physician services are provided by Haodf Online. Baidu Doctor has already partnered with Hao DaFuzhihui Internet Hospital has completed the handover process. After Baidu Doctor was shut down, the data cleared consisted of front-end user data, while the back-endThe physician resources are actually sourced from Haodf Online and will not be affected. Users who transition to Haodf Smart Internet Hospital will not only retain their previousAccount balance, with access to enhanced physician services, differing only in the front-end entry point.
We will continue to monitor further developments following the shutdown of Baidu Doctor. Stay tuned for updates from VCBeat!