Can Baidu's Medical Science Communication Regain Public Trust with Endorsement from the National Health Commission?

On May 20, the innovation launch conference for the “Authoritative Medical Science Popularization and Dissemination Network Platform,” jointly initiated and organized by Baidu, China Search, and Baike Mingyi Wang, was held in Beijing. Attendees included Mao Qun’an, Director of the Propaganda Department of the National Health and Family Planning Commission; Yang Wenzhi, Minister of the Science Popularization Department of the China Association for Science and Technology; Zhang Yaqin, President of Baidu; Shao Jun, Vice President of China Search; Li Zheng, General Manager of Baidu’s Healthcare Division; and Zhu Xiaobing, General Manager of Baike Mingyi Wang.

The “Authoritative Medical Science Popularization Online Platform” (hereinafter referred to as the “Platform”) is a specialized online platform established in 2014 under the guidance of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the China Association for Science and Technology, and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Jointly developed by Baidu, China Search, and Baike Mingyi Network, the Platform is dedicated to the development and dissemination of authoritative medical science content. All content on the Platform is created, updated, and certified by professional medical personnel from Grade A tertiary hospitals who hold associate senior professional titles or higher, or possess doctoral degrees, and is maintained by professional medical editors.

In less than two years, the “Platform” has garnered support from more than 6,000 renowned experts at top-tier (Grade A tertiary) hospitals across China, including multiple academicians and academic authorities in various fields. To date, it has completed the compilation and review of over 10,000 disease-related entries, published tens of thousands of popular science articles, more than 20,000 Q&A items, and over 200 episodes of educational videos. More than 150 million internet users have acquired popular science knowledge through this platform and benefited from it. On Baidu Baike alone, disease-related entries receive more than 3 million views per day.

“Expert Committee” and “Partner Institutions” Pages on the “Authoritative Medical Science Popularization Network Platform”

At the conference, Mao Qun’an, Director of the Department of Publicity under the National Health and Family Planning Commission, stated, “To deliver effective health science popularization, it is essential not only to engage experts but also to leverage advanced technological and communication tools, ensuring that authoritative scientific knowledge reaches the public eye and that medical science is accurately disseminated. This integration of scientific technology with the art of communication represents a pinnacle handshake between science and art.”

Due to the specialized nature of medical content, it is not easily understood by the general public. Zhang Yaqin, President of Baidu, stated, “Making medical science popularization visible and comprehensible to everyone is a goal that Baidu and our partners are striving to achieve together.”

Therefore, the upgrade of the “Authoritative Medical Science Popularization and Dissemination Network Platform” will be carried out in the following five aspects:

1. Strengthen the integrated creation of medical science popularization content for mobile platforms. To this end, Baidu Doctor has taken the lead in launching the “Certified Physician Science Popularization Content Creation and Publishing Column” on its mobile platform, thereby adding a mobile entry point to the “Authoritative Medical Science Popularization Communication Network Platform.”

2. Leverage the editing of medical science popularization entries as a breakthrough point, adopting a "create once, develop multiple times" approach. This involves producing derivative content such as popular science videos, animations, interactive Q&A sessions, and VR experiences centered around medical entries, thereby enriching the modes of expression for science popularization content;

3. Leverage Baidu’s advanced technologies in cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence to innovate medical science popularization products and services, deliver medical science information resources to target audiences in a targeted and precise manner, enhance the precision of medical science popularization, and improve its effectiveness;

4. Leverage the strengths and expertise of China Search and Baike Mingyi Network in upholding authoritative quality, controlling content quality, and connecting with high-quality medical resources, continuously improve the content review process, and strengthen the standardized development of medical and health popular science;

5. Innovate incentive mechanisms for medical science popularization, advance and refine the UPGC (User-Professional Generated Content) model, and foster an ecosystem for medical and health science communication characterized by “open source, co-creation, and sharing.”

“Baidu is transitioning from its original mission of connecting people with information to connecting people with services. In this transformation process, we approach the healthcare sector—a livelihood issue closely tied to people’s lives and property—with reverence and utmost caution,” said Li Zheng, General Manager of Baidu’s Healthcare Division. He stated that the upgrade of the “Authoritative Medical Science Popularization Network Platform” aims to address where Baidu sources authoritative health information, who endorses such information, and through what methods and technologies the information is presented. These three aspects constitute the core operational pillars of the platform.

Applicants for writing popular science content can be physicians from Grade A tertiary hospitals, or the Grade A tertiary hospitals themselves.

Li Zheng introduced that a major feature of the “Platform” is its crowdsourced content generation. “We aim to mobilize the entire society and industry, encouraging more physicians to upload information.”