Da Te Bao and Da Tang Yi Launch "Da Tang Bao": An Integrated O+O Diabetes Management Insurance Package

Recently, Datebao has entered into a strategic partnership with "DaTangYi," a leading intelligent cloud platform for diabetes management in China specializing in blood glucose control technology, to jointly launch the "DaTangBao" service package. This is the first insurance service package to offer integrated online and offline diabetes care, providing coverage for four types of diabetic complications as well as a comprehensive suite of health management services.

It is reported that Da Te Bao, China’s largest online platform for personal health insurance, completed its Series B financing round last month, reaching a valuation of RMB 1 billion. Zhou Lei, CEO of Da Te Bao, disclosed that the Series B funds will be primarily allocated to developing online medical insurance and providing coverage plans for individuals with pre-existing conditions. In November 2015, Da Te Bao launched “Tui Tang Gu,” the first insurance product in China designed specifically for diabetic patients, ending the situation where hundreds of millions of diabetic individuals in China had no access to insurance coverage and pioneering health programs tailored to people with chronic diseases within the industry.

According to 2013 statistics from health authorities, China had 114 million people with diabetes, accounting for one-third of the global diabetic population. For patients, the most lethal aspect is the complications arising from diabetes; however, diabetes management in China has been less than ideal. Chronic diseases require very frequent medical visits and consultations, yet patients encounter various obstacles when seeking care. For instance, patients often wait in line for several hours at hospitals only to have a few minutes of communication with their doctors. After leaving the hospital, there is no continuous channel for patient-doctor communication. Newly diagnosed diabetic patients lack proper knowledge, while long-term patients experience discontinuity in treatment plans due to frequently changing physicians. More importantly, beyond blood glucose monitoring, the monitoring of complications represents a significant gap in care.

Integrating insurance with health management services not only provides users with a safety net against risks but also leverages a combination of online and offline resources to deliver personalized, dedicated physician-like care. This approach enables regular screening for blood glucose levels and complications, empowers patients to self-manage and control their condition, effectively delays disease progression, and addresses the shortcomings of traditional medical care. “Da Tang Yi,” a brand under HuiMa Medical Science and Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., was selected as the strategic partner for this in-depth collaboration due to its advantages on the physician side. It successfully digitalizes advanced offline blood glucose control technologies and methodologies, offering a comprehensive suite of online and offline services.

Wu Jingyu, CEO of Da Tang Yi, stated that this collaboration highlights the perfect integration of insurance and healthcare services, aiming to create a Chinese prototype of an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) that truly achieves the dual goals of glycemic control and cost containment. Patients receive more than just simple blood glucose data records; Da Tang Yi connects insured patients with chief physicians specializing in endocrinology and provides a series of online and offline services. These include China’s leading face-to-face glycemic control courses, comprehensive care from diabetes management specialists, and regular screenings for complications. Currently, most existing diabetes insurance products primarily offer online glycemic management services. However, as diabetes is a chronic condition, changing patient behavior is crucial. Only by introducing offline supervision and care to establish a complete closed-loop system can better glycemic control be achieved and the incidence of complications reduced.

The “Da Tang Bao” service package includes: coverage of up to RMB 100,000 for diabetes complications, as well as a series of services such as assessment of individualized blood glucose monitoring targets, offline diabetes management education, development of personalized diet and exercise plans, cardiovascular complication risk assessment, and dissemination of diabetes-related knowledge. Patients in Shanghai can also benefit from four scheduled specialist outpatient consultations and offline blood glucose control courses per year. Based on blood glucose data uploaded by users, Da Tang Yi provides two monthly telephone follow-ups by medical professionals to proactively engage in users’ daily disease management. Additionally, users can consult with physicians online at any time from home, enabling one-on-one communication.

For mobile healthcare management platforms, insurance not only provides risk protection and completes the closed loop of health services, but also has the potential to strengthen users’ self-management, improve their health status, and reduce insurers’ claim probabilities through incentive mechanisms involving variable coverage amounts, thereby achieving a win-win outcome for all three parties. The collaboration between Da Te Bao and Da Tang Yi not only creates a dedicated physician service for diabetes patients, but also offers valuable experience in chronic disease management, with the potential to expand coverage to a broader range of conditions and populations in the future.

HuiMa Medical’s ultimate goal is to build a cloud hospital for chronic disease management. It has chosen diabetes as the entry point to achieve this objective, with the DaTangYi app serving as its officially launched product in this field. Wu Jingyu, Co-founder and CEO of HuiMa Medical, believes that chronic diseases are particularly well-suited to the cloud hospital model, as they require a one-stop management approach that integrates professionalism and effectiveness, in-hospital and out-of-hospital care, and software and hardware solutions.

Starting with the Acquisition of Physician Resources

Unlike products that focus on acquiring users, Da Tang Yi places greater emphasis on gaining physicians’ endorsement of its offerings. Therefore, by targeting physicians first, Da Tang Yi initially positioned itself as a physician’s assistant. As the core of healthcare, physician resources play a significant role but are scarce. Research by Da Tang Yi shows that the annual diabetes-related medical market, encompassing expenditures on medications, diagnostic tests, services, complication management, and blood glucose monitoring, amounts to hundreds of billions of yuan, with 70% of this spending driven by physicians. Physician resources thus play a dominant role in the market.

Positioned as a physician’s assistant, Da Tang Yi provides doctors with services in five areas—scientific research and learning, brand building, patient management, compliant income, and social life—with the aim of helping physicians improve the quality and efficiency of medical services.

Building on this foundation, DaTangYi has already connected with smart hardware and plans to integrate with hospital HIS systems to create a comprehensive health data ecosystem spanning both in-hospital and out-of-hospital settings. It provides patients with one-stop blood glucose management services, including medical guidance and triage, online consultations, private physician services, disease education courses, and patient social networking.

In addition, Da Tang Yi provides data services in two areas. First, it collects comprehensive medical and health data, mines big medical data, and offers data and value-added services to pharmaceutical companies, insurers, physical examination centers, government agencies, and other entities. Second, by leveraging physician resources, it helps manage the progression of chronic diseases, delay complications, and reduce healthcare costs. It is reported that Da Tang Yi has partnered with multiple pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, generating several million yuan in revenue in 2015.

Meanwhile, by providing a sticky management tool for blood glucose, lipid, and blood pressure control to both doctors and patients, Da Tang Yi leverages its pharmaceutical company background to connect with commercial distribution and agency resources of major pharmaceutical companies. By combining these with physician recommendations, it directly offers lower-priced medications and medical devices to patients, positioning itself to enter the vertical pharmaceutical e-commerce sector in the future.

Currently, the Da Tang Yi platform has 15,000 registered doctors and approximately 200,000 registered patients.

Currently, Datangyi has launched a new round of financing. It is reported that the initial capital for Datangyi came from its founding team, and it subsequently secured nearly RMB 10 million in financing from Huaying Capital.

In the first half of 2016, Da Tang Yi will successively disclose its strategic collaborations with pharmaceutical companies, insurance institutions, non-profit organizations, and major internet companies. VCBeat will continue to monitor these developments.