Smart Healthcare Takes Center Stage at the Two Sessions as Philips and Tencent Accelerate Mobile Health Strategies

With the convening of the 2016 “Two Sessions,” smart healthcare has once again become a hot topic in the industry under the Healthy China policy, which has been elevated to a national strategy. Recently, Ma Huateng, Deputy to the National People’s Congress and Chairman and CEO of Tencent Holdings Ltd., proposed that establishing a tiered diagnosis and treatment system based on internet technology and big data can effectively improve the efficiency of social medical services, provided that the “information silos” within hospitals are broken down.

Coincidentally, voices from the internet sector have also found resonance within the traditional healthcare industry. Chen Shengyu, Vice President and General Manager of Healthcare Informatics Solutions at Philips Greater China, stated that the company aims to build a comprehensive health care ecosystem. This ecosystem will foster collaboration among all stakeholders—including doctors, nurses, and patients—thereby enhancing the practical value of the overall solution.

It is reported that Philips has launched a personal health initiative aimed at connecting consumers, patients, and healthcare providers to explore innovations in connected care. “This initiative is built upon the Philips HealthSuite digital platform, an open and secure cloud-based platform capable of collecting and analyzing health data from multiple device sources, including smartwatches, blood pressure monitors, ear thermometers, and body composition analyzers. This enables physicians to promptly assess patient conditions and formulate medical judgments and treatment plans, thereby significantly reducing healthcare costs and the incidence of missed or incorrect diagnoses,” stated Philips.

Smart Healthcare’s “Hardware and Software” Layout

Not long ago, a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, the pharmaceutical R&D giant, launched a health management product called “Kangma,” aiming to make inroads into whole-genome sequencing and mobile internet-based health management. Meanwhile, Tencent, which has been actively advocating for smart healthcare in its proposals at the Two Sessions, introduced an intelligent blood glucose monitor named “Tang Dafu” early last year through its “Dream Factory” incubator under the Mobile Internet Group (MIG). Around this device, Tencent began building a chronic disease management service platform focused on diabetes care.

Philips, a health-tech giant with extensive global investments in the smart healthcare industry, also aims to replicate its concepts of connected healthcare information and intelligent operations in China.

The iPC cloud platform built into Philips’ IntelliVue smart information-enabled cloud monitor enables open connectivity to hospital networks. By leveraging relevant cloud technologies, it integrates Philips monitoring systems with clinical information systems distributed across the hospital network, consolidating and displaying this information on a single screen. This allows clinical healthcare professionals at various medical institutions to monitor patients’ real-time conditions directly at the bedside.

In terms of its China strategy, Philips has already made headway in collaborations with healthcare institutions. Previously, Philips formed an alliance with Peking University First Hospital to jointly research and develop a “Cardiovascular Chronic Disease Management Solution” aimed at “post-discharge management” for patients with cardiovascular diseases. Specifically, this solution enables tertiary hospitals to extend monitoring and care to their discharged patients by interconnecting tertiary hospitals, primary care facilities, and home settings.

Hou Xuchao, Co-Founder of CIC Consulting, stated, “The market size of mobile healthcare was approximately RMB 4.5 billion in 2015 and is projected to exceed RMB 10 billion in 2017. Although the Ministry of Health had already established a roadmap for health informatization as early as 2010, proposing the development of two foundational databases—health records and electronic medical records—and one dedicated network, there remains significant room for improvement in China regarding the collection, interoperability, and application of medical data.”

The Healthcare Industry “Breaks Down” Boundaries

With the official launch of China’s first internet hospital, the Wuzhen Internet Hospital, at the end of last year, the exploration of smart healthcare in China has entered a new phase. Companies across all segments of the industrial chain are accelerating their efforts to break down boundaries and attract capital and talent from both domestic and international markets. Philips stated that it will actively participate in the development of smart healthcare in China, aiming to gain a competitive edge through its comprehensive portfolio of products.

In this regard, Hou Xuchao pointed out that the current concept of medical data informatization mainly includes Hospital Information Systems (HIS), Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS), and Laboratory Information Systems (LIS), with significant variations in the openness of these systems. Therefore, how to secure hospital support for accessing and interoperating various types of medical data is not only a key consideration for mobile health platform operators but also a critical issue for policymakers in the industry.

“However, as the industry matures, the integration of the entire value chain and the formation of a closed-loop ecosystem will become an inevitable trend, with synergies across various sub-sectors becoming increasingly apparent. At that point, the mobile health industry will undoubtedly play a more significant role within the broader healthcare sector,” analyzed Hou Xuchao.

In addition to the integration of medical hardware data, the connectivity of healthcare professionals’ data is also emerging as a promising frontier. On March 8, Harvard Medical School’s Global Academy and Massachusetts General Hospital International held the “China-US Healthcare Cooperation and Joint Development Initiative & China-US Top-Tier Healthcare Talent Training Program” in Shanghai. One of the key focuses of this collaboration is to explore potential healthcare delivery models and to facilitate the training and deployment of top-tier medical talent.

(Article reprinted from 21st Century Business Herald)