Alipay Launches 'Cloud Hospital' Service to Optimize In-Visit Healthcare Processes

Following the launch of Alipay’s Future Hospital Initiative, the widespread adoption of mobile healthcare services has shortened patient wait times and improved hospital consultation efficiency.

To date, Alipay has partnered with more than 400 hospitals across China. Through Alipay, users can access end-to-end services, including appointment registration, payment, report retrieval, ultrasound check-in, and online medical consultations. Data from early this year shows that the “Future Hospital” initiative has served over 50 million patient visits. By leveraging the Future Hospital platform, users’ average visit time has been reduced by half.

Experience the new healthcare journey brought by mobile payment and mobile internet. Currently, some hospitals are no longer satisfied with providing full-process mobile services such as registration, payment, and report checking. Instead, they are leveraging the “Future Hospital” concept to launch “Cloud Hospital” services, optimizing in-consultation processes. These services enable patients to schedule consultation and examination appointments, receive remote consultations from doctors, and have medications delivered to their doorsteps.

Optimizing the In-Consultation Process

The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University recently launched its “Cloud Hospital” platform. Built on Alipay’s “Future Hospital” framework, users need only follow and open the “Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University” service window within Alipay to complete medical consultations, prescription issuance, test order placements, and other healthcare processes.

A relevant official at the hospital stated that the traditional healthcare process, from registration and consultation to payment, required at least nine steps to complete; however, with the adoption of the “Cloud Hospital,” patients can now receive consultations and prescriptions without leaving their homes.

A spokesperson for Alipay told reporters that the Cloud Hospital service represents a significant upgrade in hospitals’ transition to the internet. Through the Alipay platform, hospitals provide patients with services such as remote appointment additions with specialists, examination scheduling, prescription refills for chronic diseases, and hospitalization applications. Patients can now easily complete previously cumbersome medical processes—including consultations, prescription issuance, and test ordering—simply by operating their mobile phones at home.

Compared with the past, future hospitals now not only save patients time in registration, waiting for consultation, and payment but also, with the addition of cloud hospitals, reduce time spent on ordering tests, paying for tests, and waiting for examinations. Even some chronic disease patients can receive consultations at home through remote prescriptions issued by doctors, eliminating the need to visit the hospital.

Industry insiders stated that cloud hospital services have significantly expanded the scope of Alipay’s “Future Hospital” initiative, extending the boundaries of hospital care to patients’ homes. Meanwhile, hospitals have reduced their labor costs through enhanced digitalization; for instance, features such as prescription refills allow medical staff to serve patients during fragmented time slots.

The following situations are suitable for using the “Cloud Hospital” service:

Scenario 1: Routine Prescription Refills for Patients with Chronic Diseases
Mr. Ding, who suffers from chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, has run out of his medications and needs a new prescription. Previously, obtaining medication required going through the cumbersome process of registering for an outpatient visit, consulting with a doctor, and making payments at the hospital. Now, however, he can simply upload his relevant medical records via the “Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University” service window on Alipay to complete the prescription and payment process, with the option of having the medications delivered directly to his home by courier.

Scenario 2: Patient Follow-up After Examination
Ms. Li visited the Second Affiliated Hospital on Monday morning, with some test results available only the following day. Now, Ms. Li can directly check her test results and consult with her doctor via Alipay. After the doctor makes a diagnosis on the “Cloud Hospital” platform and prescribes medication, payment is automatically deducted through Alipay, allowing her to easily pick up the medication at the hospital pharmacy or even have it delivered to her door by courier.

Scenario 3: From Examination Appointment to Consultation Room
Aunt Lin, who suffers from breast disease and requires regular check-ups, can now submit a request directly through the “Cloud Hospital.” The “Cloud Hospital” will then issue the appropriate examination orders. After Aunt Lin pays via Alipay, she can proceed to the designated department for her examination at the scheduled time, eliminating the need to queue at the hospital.

It is understood that cloud hospital services, built upon Alipay’s “Future Hospital” platform and hospitals’ own independent health IT infrastructure, are relatively straightforward to implement. The specific services offered by different cloud hospitals may vary; institutions can tailor their service offerings based on their unique medical capabilities and level of digitalization. Internet integration has expanded hospitals’ outreach channels, with the cloud hospital model delivering healthcare services directly to patients’ homes. Any service deemed suitable for remote provision by a hospital can be delivered to a vast patient population through the cloud hospital platform.