Addressing the Three Core Challenges in Chronic Disease Management: How Digital Health Innovations Are Transforming Sustainability, Data Integrity, and Payment Models

Chronic disease management is not only a focal point in the healthcare sector but has also become a pressing social issue that demands immediate attention and recognition. Currently, the healthcare system we rely on remains accustomed to addressing the diagnosis and treatment of acute conditions, while the health insurance system is not yet prepared to provide comprehensive coverage for chronic disease care. To meet the challenges posed by chronic disease management, we need a series of innovations spanning medical technology, payment systems, and business models.

Current Status of Chronic Disease Management

Diabetes is a typical chronic disease. Due to the large patient population, diabetes management has consistently attracted significant attention within the vertical sector of internet healthcare. The treatment of diabetes is a protracted process, during which effective glycemic control by patients is crucial. According to the "Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Type 2 Diabetes in China (2013 Edition)," the prevalence of diabetes among adults in China has reached 11.6%, while only 39.7% of patients undergoing treatment achieve adequate glycemic control.

Moreover, like the management of many chronic diseases, diabetes management faces three major challenges:Sustainability of Services, Integrity of Information, and Feasibility of PaymentAt the Chinese Diabetes Society’s 2016 Symposium on Diabetes Education Management held recently, experts from various fields shared their perspectives on patient education and management for diabetes from multiple angles.

Sustainability of Services: Patient Education Management in Mobile Health

A year has 365.25 days, with 24 hours per day, totaling 8,766 hours. Under traditional medical care, patients with diabetes have only six hours of contact per year with nurses, physicians, dietitians, and other healthcare professionals, leaving the remaining 8,760 hours to rely on self-management. With the advent of the mobile health era, advances in internet technology, and the widespread adoption of smartphone applications, the challenges facing diabetes management appear to be readily resolved. The key lies in how to effectively leverage mobile health solutions.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission announced that family doctor contract services would be launched in 200 pilot cities for comprehensive public hospital reform in 2016, with the goal of achieving basic universal coverage of “family doctors” by 2020. It is necessary to transform the service model of primary healthcare, implement family doctor contract services, and strengthen the functions of the primary healthcare service network. The priority populations for family doctor contract services include patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and tuberculosis. Integrating online and offline services through family doctors and mobile health can help patients better manage chronic diseases. Consequently, among more than 2,000 mobile health apps, approximately 700 are dedicated to diabetes management.

As a representative diabetes management app, Zhangshang Tangyi (Pocket Sugar Doctor) CEO Kuang Ming stated that the original intention behind creating the diabetes management platform was to support and help doctors conduct patient education and management more efficiently. The standardized service system established aims to connect doctors with patients and meet their medical service needs after leaving the hospital. “Patient education and management cannot exist independently of doctors; rather, the diabetes management platform enhances efficiency in this process. Mobile healthcare serves as a link in chronic disease management, enabling sustainable patient education and management.”

According to reports, the mobile healthcare services currently offered by Zhangshang Tangyi are capable of meeting patients’ needs for scientific and professional chronic disease management. The platform provides a variety of services, including data monitoring and analysis, experience sharing, and lifestyle improvement guidance. By transcending temporal and spatial constraints, this mobile chronic disease management platform integrates more seamlessly into patients’ daily lives.

Data Integrity: Big Data Generates Significant Value

Fragmentation of medical information stems from the fragmented distribution of healthcare resources. While establishing mechanisms to integrate healthcare resources for chronic disease management, it is also essential to enhance the level of health informatics in this field. Comprehensive medical information will serve as a critical technical foundation for achieving sustainable chronic disease management.

For patients, it is difficult to collect their complete historical medical data; for doctors, they often only have access to fragmented patient data during diagnosis and treatment. The integration of mobile health and big data can address some of the information asymmetry issues, improve doctors' work efficiency, thereby optimizing the quality of medical services and enhancing patient satisfaction. In this regard, Kuang Ming stated, "Understanding not only what is happening but also why it is happening." The reason Palm Sugar Doctor (Zhangshang Tangyi) can obtain more multidimensional patient data and in-depth user needs information is due to its continuous offline service practices, understanding the causes behind users' surface-level problems, and thus providing targeted disease management service solutions.

Payment Feasibility: Collaboration Between Mobile Health and Insurance

Currently, China’s basic medical insurance system remains primarily focused on covering major illnesses. While the authorities have recognized the importance of regional chronic disease education and management, practical policy support is unlikely to be provided in the short term. How can educators receive fair compensation for their labor? This is the essential path to ensuring the sustainable development of health education initiatives. Therefore, the collaborative model between mobile healthcare providers and insurance companies holds considerable promise.

Kuang Ming, CEO of Zhangshang Tangyi

For mobile health companies, collaborating with commercial insurance providers not only expands service offerings and attracts more users but, more importantly, delivers tangible medical coverage that meets users’ actual needs, thereby alleviating their financial burden and reducing healthcare costs. For commercial insurers, partnering with mobile health enterprises enables them to develop new insurance products and attract more policyholders, while also more effectively mitigating insured individuals’ disease risks and achieving cost containment. Additionally, such collaborations enhance the insurers’ brand by contributing social value.

In its collaborations with insurance companies, Palm Sugar Doctor has carved out a distinctive path, garnering positive market response. Following the launch of the “Diabetes Complications Insurance” in partnership with Taiping Insurance, the company has further collaborated with multiple commercial insurers, including Ping An Insurance and Union Life Insurance. By leveraging continuous cohort data and large-sample cross-sectional data, they precisely map users’ disease stages to develop more universally applicable insurance products. Their aim is to ensure that affordable coverage and accessible claims are available to the broad population of diabetes patients, thereby truly reducing overall healthcare expenditures while providing long-term, reliable health and medical service support.

It is reported that the diabetes complication insurance launched by Zhangshang Tangyi has already received tens of thousands of policies, establishing a solid customer base. Moreover, users who have purchased this insurance product generally demonstrate high levels of satisfaction and engagement.