Convenience of WeChat-Based Medical Services: A Practical Evaluation of 33 Grade-A Tertiary Hospitals in Guangzhou
Nowadays, if patients still face endless queues when seeking medical care at a hospital, that hospital’s mobile healthcare services are nothing short of an utter embarrassment!
A year ago, Index Jun scored the usage of information systems in medical institutions across the city. At that time, only 20 out of 33 Grade A tertiary hospitals had established WeChat and Alipay registration platforms, with functions mainly focused on appointment registration. One year later, 29 hospitals have built informational platforms based on these two software applications. Index Jun also found that through these platforms, patients can check medical records and test reports, and even schedule blood tests and medication delivery.
Which hospitals offer the most convenient mobile medical services, and which ones remain “stubbornly unchanged”? Check out the Southern Metropolis Daily Index’s “Ranking of Mobile Medical Service Convenience at 33 Grade-A Tertiary Hospitals in Guangzhou (2016)” to see if it reflects your experience. Scroll down for a detailed overview of each hospital’s user-friendly mobile service features, and feel free to share your comments and criticisms.
Evaluation Subjects: Tier-3 Grade-A hospitals in Guangzhou that have established their own primary appointment registration platforms via WeChat and Alipay (excluding appointment systems accessed through the general reservation service channels of WeChat and Alipay). Appointment registration is the core demand of mobile healthcare users; however, as mobile healthcare reshapes medical service processes, these platforms have evolved from simple appointment scheduling to multi-functional services, including access to medical records, laboratory test results, and scheduling of diagnostic examinations.
Evaluation Metrics: The convenience of hospital mobile medical services is assessed through nine primary indicators—registration and login, information updates, appointment scheduling time slots, access to medical functions such as viewing medical records and test results, payment, appointment cancellation, interactive sections, specialized services, and comprehensive evaluation. Scores are summed up, and rankings are determined based on the total score.
Check out the overall rankings ↓↓
In the overall rankings, the three established leaders from the top tier last year—Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, and Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine—have firmly maintained their positions in the top three. Leveraging higher appointment rates and more patient-centered services, Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center has successfully surpassed the defending champion, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, to claim the top spot.
Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital emerged as the biggest dark horse of the year, thanks to the dual-platform synergy of Alipay and WeChat. The hospital surged from 15th place last year to fourth in 2016. Its Alipay first-tier registration system not only offers a smooth user experience but also provides personalized services for patients. On WeChat, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital has achieved seamless, real-time settlement of medical insurance claims, backed by a robust backend and rapid processing speeds. Additionally, another dark horse, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, delivered an impressive performance, climbing from 12th to sixth place.
The number of “zero-score” hospitals can, to some extent, reflect the overall performance of Guangzhou’s Grade 3A hospitals in terms of information systems. So-called “zero-score” hospitals refer to those that have not enabled appointment registration on either the Alipay or WeChat primary registration pages (i.e., their own appointment platforms). In this round of evaluation, there were four such zero-score hospitals.
1. Highest Appointment Rate: Nearly 100% at the Municipal Women and Children's Medical Center
Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center currently has an appointment booking rate nearing 100%. Its registration system includes Alipay, WeChat, and Yichengtong, which is based on UnionPay cards. Apart from retaining a limited number of manual registration windows in the emergency department and infectious disease ward, the hospital has become one of the first Grade A tertiary medical institutions in China to fully implement a comprehensive appointment-only registration system.
The hospital continuously improves patients’ healthcare experience through numerous detailed measures, offering comprehensive services for registration, payment, inpatient admission, and consultation-room assistance. Even examination items such as blood draws, which typically involve queuing, can be scheduled via the system. The only slight shortcoming is that the outpatient medication dispensing channel is somewhat congested; when patient volume increases, the outpatient pharmacy becomes the most crowded area.
2. Most Thoughtful: Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Offers Free TCM Herbal Medicines
The information systems used by Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine cover mainstream platforms such as Alipay and WeChat, as well as the relatively niche China Telecom appointment service. Although the hospital faces an inherent disadvantage in appointment rates due to its predominantly elderly patient population, it has introduced specialized services for younger demographics, including herbal decoction and free delivery. This is good news for young people who are short on time or prefer not to brew their own herbal medicine.
Certainly. The Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is also one of the pilot hospitals implementing real-time medical insurance settlement by the Healthcare Security Administration. Citizens registered at this hospital can also enjoy outpatient reimbursement through information system-based settlement.
3. Most Cost-Effective: Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital Offers RMB 2.5 Million in Discounts
Registration fees, information system platforms, and hospitals all subsidize the costs. To encourage patients to develop the habit of paying via WeChat, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital collaborated with platform enterprises to hold five online campaigns offering “free registration fees for WeChat bookings and discounts on outpatient payments.” These initiatives provided a total of RMB 2.5 million in fee reductions and exemptions for patients, with many saving RMB 100 on a single payment.
4. Most Promising: Zhongshan University Medical Cluster Hospitals
The numerous hospitals affiliated with Sun Yat-sen University hold significant advantages in both patient volume and public favorability. In this evaluation, among the seven affiliated hospitals of Sun Yat-sen University, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University achieved the highest score, thanks to its user-friendly interface and convenient accessibility. The hospital offers a wide range of convenience-oriented features, and its medical insurance payment function is currently being rolled out.
Furthermore, the online appointment platforms of four hospitals—Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, and The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University—are relatively user-friendly, featuring intuitive interfaces and functions such as inquiry of examination reports and outpatient payment. However, other functionalities remain inadequate. In contrast, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University and Guanghua School of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, basically offer only appointment registration services and require further improvement.
In terms of specialized services, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center provides a link for app download, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University offers online appointment scheduling and in-clinic booking functions, and The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University enables linking of family member information, thereby providing patients with diverse service options.
What Convenient Services Do the Top 10 Hospitals on the WeChat Ranking Offer?↓↓
What Convenient Services Are Offered by the Top 10 Hospitals on the Alipay Ranking?↓↓
Are you satisfied with the hospital’s mobile healthcare services? Feel free to “Leave a Comment” to share your experiences, whether to vent or give praise—come on in!
Source: Nandu Self-Media