Baoding Health Commission and AliHealth Launch Hebei's First City-Level Internet Hospital
On June 22, the Baoding Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission signed the “Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Baoding Online Hospital” with Alibaba Health. Under the guidance of the Baoding Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission, Alibaba Health will leverage resources from Alibaba Cloud, Ant Financial, Tmall Pharmacy, Rural Taobao, and Cainiao Logistics to integrate its technological and experiential advantages in “Internet + Healthcare.” This collaboration aims to comprehensively implement Alibaba Health’s innovations in online medical services, pharmaceutical e-commerce, insurance, and health management in Baoding City.
Online medical insurance settlement is available.
It is reported that following the signing of the "Baoding City Network Hospital Cooperation Framework Agreement," the Baoding Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission will collaborate with AliHealth to establish Hebei Province’s first city-level network hospital. The partnership aims to jointly build an internet-based tiered diagnosis and treatment system and a framework for separating medical services from pharmaceutical sales, promote targeted health education, explore rapid claims settlement services for commercial insurance, and launch medical care services tailored to specific population groups, among other areas of cooperation. This collaboration will break down regional barriers to medical resources, extend medical service coverage across the entire city, and provide convenient medication purchasing services to the general public by integrating online medical insurance settlement with offline drug delivery.
Meanwhile, Baoding City will establish a citywide unified remote consultation platform based on its internet hospital, connecting upward with high-quality tertiary Grade A hospitals nationwide and downward with primary healthcare institutions through family doctors, thereby promoting the implementation of tiered diagnosis and treatment.
On the same day, Alibaba Health also signed the “Phase I Pilot Agreement for Baoding Online Hospital” with Baoding Infectious Disease Hospital and the Qingyuan District Health and Family Planning Commission, taking the lead in piloting an online hospital model and implementing a unified drug procurement and supply system with separation of prescribing and dispensing in the field of chronic liver disease.
Internet hospitals can facilitate referrals between higher- and lower-level medical institutions.
The cooperation agreement signed between the Baoding Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission and Alibaba Health signifies that residents of Baoding, Hebei Province, will soon be able to enjoy an end-to-end service encompassing online medical consultations, medication purchases, and medical insurance reimbursement. In the future, when Baoding residents fall ill, they can use internet applications to conveniently contact family doctors for initial consultations in real time, or communicate with specialists from tertiary hospitals via video links at primary healthcare institutions. For conditions that cannot be resolved at the primary care level, the internet-based tiered diagnosis and treatment system will facilitate referrals. Patients with chronic diseases will receive continuous monitoring and treatment from family doctors and tertiary hospital physicians, supported by smart hardware and mobile applications. Medications purchased online will be delivered directly to patients’ doors by professional logistics providers, and patients can settle payments directly using their medical insurance, thereby avoiding unnecessary travel burdens.
“City-level online hospitals will become a basic health infrastructure for residents.” Ma Li, Vice President of Ali Health, introduced that the collaborative construction of an online hospital with the Baoding Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission represents an integration of Ali Health’s technological capabilities, internet-based pharmaceutical and healthcare expertise, and resource advantages. Ma stated that the government has already made numerous attempts and explorations in leveraging new technologies to improve the health status of grassroots populations. Recently, Ali Health has integrated its products and technologies with the “all-in-one health kiosks” already invested in and built by the government, enabling doctors and specialists to provide users with enhanced health management services.
In 2014, Hebei Province signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Alibaba Group. Over the past two years, the Hebei Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission has collaborated with AliHealth to launch pilot initiatives in various areas of “Internet Plus Healthcare,” including electronic prescription circulation, socially sourced medication supply, pharmaceutical O2O (online-to-offline) services, and family doctor programs. Industry experts believe that establishing a citywide network hospital anchored by physical hospitals in Baoding will deepen the cooperation between Hebei Province and AliHealth, moving it from breadth to depth.