Wang Jiansheng: Building Medical Collaboration Groups in the Internet Era

Guest Introduction: Professor of Oncology, Chief Physician, and Doctoral Supervisor at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University. He initiated and established the Shaanxi Provincial Anti-Cancer Association’s Collaborative Group for Breast Disease Prevention and Treatment, which currently includes member units covering 88 counties and cities across Shaanxi Province.

Top 10 Quotes:

1. Everyone’s life is influenced by new technologies; those who stagnate at a certain point in time will be left behind by the era.




2. Network or internet technologies can offer you limitless possibilities; any new method, technology, or innovation you introduce can be scaled infinitely, enabling more people to benefit from it.




3. To be a physician in the new era, one should be eager to learn, communicate effectively, and possess compassion and a spirit of sharing.




4. If your goal is clear, do what you know how to do; if your goal is unclear, persist in doing one thing.




5. Our connections are loose and passive, organizational activities lack cohesion and synergy, resulting in slow development. We should leverage internet platforms to further consolidate these achievements.




6. The TCM Collaborative Group is more practical for our country, as the general public at the grassroots level has a very high level of acceptance of Traditional Chinese Medicine.




7. Establishing a medical collaboration group not only benefits their department but also provides significant advantages to the key personnel involved within the department.




8. For a hospital, such as a Grade 3A tertiary hospital, with an annual outpatient volume in the millions and over 100,000 discharged patients per year, how is data security ensured?




9. A particularly important reason our team has come this far is perseverance.




10. How can “Internet + Healthcare” address the challenges encountered in offline practice? Many individuals currently engaged in “Internet + Healthcare” may not have appropriate solutions.

Failure to master new technologies will result in being left behind by the times.

Although I am not very old, being born in the 1970s, I remain full of anticipation for new things. Everyone’s life is influenced by new technologies; if one stagnates at a certain point in time, they risk being left behind by the era. In recent years, large and successful enterprises in China have all leveraged technology, particularly internet technology. For instance, Alibaba and the WeChat platform are both closely tied to the internet.

Initially, I used my mobile phone to send bulk text messages, which I found quite convenient. This approach helped bring together individuals with shared interests, enabling them to share the latest technologies, perspectives, and methodologies for faster growth. It also facilitated the cohesion of patients into a small community, fostering mutual progress.

In today’s era of rapidly advancing information technology, any individual or group operating in isolation is inherently disadvantaged, as individual capabilities are limited. In contrast, network and internet technologies offer boundless possibilities, enabling any new method, technology, or innovation to be scaled infinitely, thereby allowing more people to benefit.

Our ideal as physicians is to help more patients and serve a broader population with our expertise. Without the impetus provided by the internet, I believe this impact would be limited. The number of patients seen in any individual clinic is finite, butOur ideas and expertise can be disseminated far and wide through technology, which is of paramount importance in supporting grassroots-level healthcare.

I believe that to be a physician in the new era, one should possess the following fundamental qualities:

The first is definitely a love of learning.The rapid advancement of medicine and the swift updating of knowledge require diligent learners to adopt appropriate methods, with leveraging the internet being a particularly effective approach. With the widespread adoption of smartphones and smart devices, we can access knowledge anytime and anywhere as long as there is internet or Wi-Fi connectivity; this is the first lesson to learn.

Second, one should learn to communicate.Working in isolation without external input will not lead to rapid improvement; this approach is inadvisable.

Third, and most importantly, is compassion and a spirit of sharing.Share your methods and insights with a broader audience; this not only helps others but also contributes to your own professional growth.

"If the goal is unclear, persist in doing one thing."

I have always held this view,If your goal is clear, do what you know how to do; if your goal is unclear, persist in doing one thing. Therefore, when you are unsure of your life’s purpose or feel lost, stick to doing one thing.

Since 1998, I have accompanied our hospital’s volunteer service team on rural outreach programs. Whenever I felt uncertain about my next steps, I would engage in public welfare activities in rural areas. Conversely, when I had clear objectives—such as writing articles, conducting research projects, or pursuing academic degrees—I dedicated myself fully to those tasks. I have maintained this approach for 17 years.

The original concept of establishing a medical consortium or collaborative care group emerged in 2004. At that time, we considered focusing on women’s health as an entry point to conduct science popularization and education, provide screening examinations, establish health records for healthy populations, and offer health consultations, thereby bringing together more members of the public and healthcare providers serving them.

We have been engaged in this initiative for ten years. In the beginning, progress was arduous, as most individuals lacked the time and were unwilling to participate. For experts and professors at tertiary hospitals, daily clinical, research, and teaching responsibilities were already overwhelming. Additionally, some believed that providing services in rural areas would not allow them to realize their personal value, resulting in low participation rates.

Initially, our team undertook the work independently. After more than a decade of perseverance, the team has grown significantly, yielding increasingly pronounced social benefits. It has also provided a robust platform for realizing personal value, as many grassroots personnel have enhanced their service capabilities and awareness through collaboration.

For tertiary hospitals, building platforms and networks to gather more information and collect more data greatly facilitates scientific research, the promotion of new technologies, and the expansion of clinical service capabilities and reach. As a result, more experts are now willing to join these teams, leading to continuous improvement in their work.

Over the past 17 years, our team has gradually expanded, growing from a handful of individuals to thousands. While the management of such a large group is relatively decentralized, we are united by the common purpose of serving the public and remain committed to this mission.

At some point last year, an internet company approached us, saying, “Professor Wang, what you are doing is impressive, and so is your team. We’re curious about the model you use to deliver services.” This question caught us off guard, as our interactions were loose and passive, our organizational activities lacked cohesion and unity, failing to generate synergistic effects, which resulted in slow development. I believed it was a great idea to leverage an internet platform to further refine and consolidate these achievements, so we began this initiative in April 2014.

Onboarded 965 village doctors onto the mobile platform within one month

The promotion of the medical collaboration group model is also encouraged by the government, which hopes to amplify the impact of its limited investments and achieve greater benefits. With numerous experts and volunteers willing to leverage their spare time to bring their professional expertise to the grassroots level, local residents can access medical services from senior specialists without leaving their homes. Meanwhile, grassroots healthcare personnel benefit from technical improvements through mentorship and guidance provided by these senior experts. Given these advantages, the government is certainly supportive of this model. Consequently, it has gradually gained recognition and support from local governments in many regions across the province.

With their support, on August 8 this year, we launched a pilot program to test whether a single team could serve an entire region by achieving comprehensive coverage in a specific county.

We selected a county located 60 kilometers from Xi’an, Shaanxi Province. This county has a population of 810,000 and is divided into 21 townships. Our team partnered with a local hospital to conduct a month-long campaign, delivering one specialized lecture per day in a different township, focusing on the prevention of common diseases and the promotion of medical technologies. Additionally, we provided training for all village doctors. Over the course of this month-long initiative, which engaged 1,300 township and village doctors across the 21 townships, we successfully onboarded 965 township and village doctors onto the “Health [XX] County” platform.

On the platform, village doctors consult on challenges, uncertainties, or complex cases encountered in their daily clinical practice. Our experts, including specialists from county-level hospitals, provide targeted responses. Following these consultations, some issues can be resolved locally, while patients with refractory or complicated conditions may be referred to our teaching hospitals through a dedicated green channel. This arrangement enhances the service capacity of teaching hospitals for local communities and significantly boosts the influence, service capability, and service reach of primary care institutions.

The county hospital served by our team previously had only 10 beds shared between its surgical and internal medicine departments. After a year of educational outreach by our team, the hospital established an independent breast surgery department. During a follow-up lecture visit one month ago, I observed that 15 of the department’s 20 beds were occupied by breast cancer patients, demonstrating significant progress in specialty development and capacity building.

Establishing a medical collaboration group is no simple task.

How to Establish a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Collaborative Group? I believe this aligns with the work we have been doing. The term “collaborative group” is used because all members contribute equally, share the same goals, and are provided with the same platform; it ultimately depends on the role each individual assumes within this platform. A TCM collaborative group is more practical for our country, as there is a very high level of public acceptance of Traditional Chinese Medicine among the general population at the grassroots level.

During our free medical clinics in rural areas, we frequently encounter patients who do not initially disclose their symptoms. Instead, they simply request, “Please examine me” or “Please take my pulse.” After completing our examinations and informing them that their health is fine, they often ask, “Won’t you prescribe some medication for me?” This reflects the strong public trust in traditional medical practices and concepts of health. Therefore, it is essential to select appropriate projects and persist in implementing them with a dedicated team. Success should not be expected in the short term; rather, a longer-term perspective—spanning three, five, or even ten years—is necessary to ensure ultimate success.

Establishing such a medical collaboration group is no simple task. How can we secure funding and train the team? I must admit, this was initially quite embarrassing for us, as we lacked funding at the outset. However, with support from both the hospital and the government—who approached us to lead the project—we considered incorporating health education, knowledge dissemination, team building, and platform development into the hospital’s key priorities.

With adequate policy support, funding, and human resources, this work can be executed exceptionally well. Over the past decade or so, several institutions in Shaanxi Province have adopted this approach, which has not only benefited their departments but also provided significant advantages to the key personnel involved. Our collaborative group has cultivated many outstanding physicians who, through grassroots service in rural areas, have learned how to serve the public, analyze data, and foster their own professional development. Consequently, many young professionals in our team have achieved substantial growth and advancement in their technical expertise.

Two Major Challenges Facing "Internet + Healthcare"

The impact of internet technology on the entire healthcare industry is undoubtedly significant. Why is this so? This can be seen from Premier Li Keqiang’s discussion of “Internet Plus” in the Government Work Report, as well as President Xi Jinping’s specific mention of the pioneering role played by the Wuzhen Internet Hospital during his attendance at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen.

However, I personally believe that there are still many issues to be addressed.

The first issue is data security. For individuals or small teams, we can rely on professional ethics to ensure basic security, as we do not handle significant amounts of private or personal data. However, for a hospital—such as a Grade 3A hospital with millions of outpatient visits and over 100,000 discharged patients annually—how can data security be guaranteed? This is a critical question they must address. This is one of the reasons why promoting internet-based healthcare currently faces certain challenges.

The second point is how to implement offline activities. I personally believe that a particularly important reason our team has come this far is perseverance. As I mentioned earlier, whether we were clear-headed or confused, we have always been doing one thing: serving the grassroots population. Therefore, I believe that when you succeed in accomplishing something.

Looking back on the challenges I once encountered, none of them seem insurmountable now, as we have successfully resolved them. However, the process of finding solutions was indeed painful. Many current practitioners in the “Internet + Healthcare” sector may not yet have appropriate strategies to address the practical difficulties encountered in offline settings.

Q&A Highlights

Can chronic disease management and general practice also leverage this model?
Wang Jiansheng:I believe that chronic disease management and general practice can also leverage this model. Once such a platform is established and operational, it can facilitate any type of work. At a conference held this October, organized by Health News and guided by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, I shared my insights. During the event, Fudan University in Shanghai presented an excellent platform for general practice, which shares similarities with ours. Regardless of the specific activities undertaken, it is essential to have a network and a platform, ideally supported by robust technology, as this would greatly enhance convenience and efficiency.

How can collaborative organizations leverage the internet?

Wang Jiansheng:During my presentation, I mentioned that in April 2014, an internet company approached me, proposing a collaboration or inviting me to deliver lectures to share our experiences. With their support, I delivered three to four talks across China, presenting the work we had undertaken. Meanwhile, their team integrated with ours to develop a platform that facilitated more convenient and efficient communication. This company has performed exceptionally well and enjoys a prominent reputation throughout the internet healthcare industry.

What challenges do you think doctors encounter when engaging in public health education?

Wang Jiansheng:I believe the most challenging aspect of public health education is the lack of recognition. Once, when I was scheduled to deliver a health talk, a local physician told me, “Just come as planned; we’ve made thorough preparations.” However, upon my arrival, only three people were present. When I asked why, he explained that a major event was taking place in the village, and everyone had gone to help out. As a result, we waited for two hours before beginning. Eventually, 143 attendees arrived—nearly all the women in the village. This experience reinforced my belief that the public does value health information. The key lies in whether your work truly benefits them, whether it is genuinely designed from their perspective, and whether you can sustain these efforts over time.

What types of data should be considered for security concerns, and which data can be shared? There is a new term in the internet industry called the sharing economy. Does the logic of sharing work in the healthcare industry, such as on the platform of Medical Consortiums?

Wang Jiansheng:I believe that medical data requires robust security considerations across many dimensions. To say nothing of other factors, the data of all patients seeking care is currently insufficiently secure. A large hospital handles 3 million outpatient visits annually, amounting to 15 million over five years. If this outpatient information were acquired by other hospitals, competitors, or companies with ulterior motives, I consider the consequences to be catastrophic.

I believe this shared logic is feasible for the healthcare industry. Currently, the state has organized numerous medical consortia, which are delineated by geographic regions. What are the advantages of such regional division? As we know, our economic planning, taxation system, and administrative management are all structured along regional lines. This approach offers the benefit of enabling effective mobilization of resources within a given region. However, integrating resources across different regions requires more sophisticated design.

Can your organization be described as a physician group within the public healthcare system? How can the stability of such physician groups be enhanced?

Wang Jiansheng:Referring to it as an "in-system physician group" seems quite apt. Our current work primarily involves physicians within the public healthcare system, although there are also some from the private sector. Physicians within the public system tend to emphasize public welfare. This is not to say that private practitioners lack a commitment to public welfare; however, they often face institutional pressures or have different personal designs and needs, which can make their objectives less clear-cut.

How to Enhance the Stability of Physicians in the Public Sector? I believe we should enable them to realize their professional value on this platform. Every physician, regardless of seniority, has personal aspirations, which we must take into account, allowing them to improve their clinical competencies through patient care services.

Can Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment Be Achieved in an Era of Overtreatment?

Wang Jiansheng:Will Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment Be Achieved in an Era of Overtreatment? I believe this question can be answered with a definitive yes—it must be achieved. China is vigorously promoting tiered diagnosis and treatment to thoroughly address the challenges of difficult and costly access to medical care. Furthermore, a nation’s healthcare investment is influenced by many factors, and resources are limited. If these resources are not allocated rationally, it would be unjust to the public and pose significant balancing challenges for the government. The greatest benefit of tiered diagnosis and treatment lies in ensuring that appropriate patients see appropriate doctors, so that suitable physicians treat suitable cases. Therefore, we should avoid under-treating serious conditions or over-treating minor ones. By making the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of diseases reasonable, scientific, and standardized, the implementation of this system becomes an inevitable necessity.

What support would you like the news media and the National Health and Family Planning Commission to provide to physician collaborative organizations?

Wang Jiansheng:This is an excellent question. What kind of support do we hope to receive? In many cases, we have benefited from the assistance of local media, which has helped our team build a certain level of influence within the industry—a achievement closely tied to the positive energy promoted by these media outlets. Of course, we place greater hope on government bodies, including the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) mentioned earlier, to provide more tangible support for our projects. This may require us to further improve our work before submitting formal applications. In fact, many members of our team have applied for various types of funding through multiple channels, such as the National Natural Science Foundation and the NHFPC’s cross-strait cooperation projects. Our member institutions have successfully secured such grants, which have significantly driven our progress. Therefore, I believe that any platform requires more resources and more opportunities.

"Are the doctors and patients on the same internet platform you use, or are they on separate platforms?"

Wang Jiansheng:We currently do not have our own dedicated platform. As mentioned earlier, we rely on platforms provided by internet companies. Consequently, our physician platform and patient platform are separate. Communications among physicians are not visible to patients, whereas communications between physicians and patients are visible to patients. Physicians within the same team can view these interactions, while those outside the team cannot. This separation is designed to protect patient privacy, as medical issues often involve sensitive, non-public information.

Which features of internet platforms do you find most useful?

Wang Jiansheng:From my personal perspective, every function of the internet is beneficial to us. It is particularly useful for information acquisition, dissemination, and data collection and organization. Each of us engages in numerous tasks daily; when looking back, we often forget what we have actually done. Objectively recording every detail and every action we take each day is inherently meaningful. As the song goes, “The most romantic thing is growing old with you slowly.” When we reach old age, being able to reminisce about many experiences becomes especially important. The same applies to our work. For a team, organizing data is of paramount importance. Therefore, I believe that every feature of the internet offers us significant assistance.

How to Address Data Interoperability and Sharing Across Hospitals and Medical Consortia? How Can Security Concerns in This Area Be Resolved?

Wang Jiansheng:Regarding the cross-hospital or cross-community sharing of data, as mentioned earlier, this is a highly challenging issue and a critical aspect that requires careful top-level design during the integration of the internet and healthcare. Personally, I have not yet identified a particularly effective method to ensure data security. Therefore, within our community, much of the data is not shared externally. When negotiating collaborations with various companies, we prefer to clarify terms upfront—acting prudently before becoming amicable—by signing agreements that clearly define mutual responsibilities prior to cooperation. Once data is leaked, improperly shared, or mishandled, it becomes extremely difficult to resolve any resulting difficulties or disputes in the future. While I have not fully addressed all potential contingencies, my primary focus remains on security; however, I currently lack a robust solution to guarantee it.

Regarding the physician collaboration network you founded, which focuses on breast health, is it necessary to establish a nationwide special fund?

Wang Jiansheng:Establishing a nationwide special-purpose foundation is one of our future aspirations, as we strive to uphold our ideals and contribute to the Chinese Dream. Currently, however, our team may not yet possess sufficient strength or the capacity to effectively manage such a fund. Nevertheless, during our operations, we have collaborated with select Women’s Federations and associations; they identify suitable patients for their aid programs through us, and we provide substantial support in these efforts. In the future, when our team has grown stronger and achieved greater excellence, it will be necessary to establish such a special-purpose foundation to serve a broader population. This aligns with one of the core objectives of our collaborative group.

Is your collaborative organization for-profit? Who pays the bill?

Wang Jiansheng:I believe this is an excellent question. Our collaborative group is not profit-driven; we are a public welfare organization operating on a voluntary basis, so we primarily cover our own costs. As physicians with decent incomes, it is not difficult for us to drive over a hundred kilometers, gather as a team, deliver lectures on our professional expertise at hospitals, and then repeat these sessions in rural areas.

Furthermore, many share my view that our knowledge should not be used merely to solve the problems of a few complex cases. Instead, we should translate medical expertise into language accessible to the general public, thereby enhancing health awareness and reducing disease incidence. This is our ultimate ideal, yet it seems this consideration was overlooked by those footing the bill.

Is the referral volume of the collaborative group large, and is upward referral also considered?

Wang Jiansheng:Our organization implements a tiered diagnosis and treatment system, with both upward and downward patient referrals occurring on a monthly basis. The hospital I am affiliated with is the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, a large ministry-administered hospital in this region. Consequently, the number of upward referrals is very low, averaging approximately one or two cases per month. Our collaborative group has also referred patients to Beijing or Shanghai when we determined that they genuinely required such specialized care. In contrast, we have a higher volume of downward referrals. After patients are transferred to us from primary care hospitals, we provide diagnosis and treatment. Once we assess that their physical and mental conditions meet the prerequisites for subsequent rehabilitation at primary care institutions, we refer them back down.

Professor Wang, have you had any engagement with the physician collaboration groups in the Henan region? What are your thoughts on cross-regional synergy and coordination driven by strong specialty disciplines?

Wang Jiansheng:Our collaborative group is also known as the Northwest Collaborative Group, with the aim of using Shaanxi Province as a hub to extend its reach to neighboring regions. We maintain varying degrees of academic collaboration with surrounding provinces and autonomous regions, including Henan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang.

A netizen just mentioned leveraging strong specialty disciplines to drive cross-regional collaboration. I personally believe this is feasible. In my current work focusing on breast health, we have not only covered 107 counties in Shaanxi Province but are also frequently invited to other provinces to share our experiences. For instance, in Qinghai Province, we helped establish an Anti-Cancer Alliance within just three months, bringing together 72 relevant associations to collaborate on the prevention and treatment of breast diseases, which has yielded positive results. The key lies in whether the partner hospitals or individuals recognize and find our model worthy of adoption. I consider this point particularly important. If there is broad recognition—as I mentioned earlier, with support from the government and the public, and persistent efforts by physicians—the outcomes will undoubtedly be favorable.

How to Enhance Public Awareness of Self-Care, Reduce Disease Incidence, and Educate Patients?

Wang Jiansheng:I believe that enhancing public health awareness is a task to which we volunteers should devote substantial efforts, and one in which the state and government should also invest significant resources. Furthermore, I hold that prevention should take precedence over treatment.

Many people place great importance on their health but lack the knowledge to manage it effectively. Consider a simple example: the prevalence of hypertension has reached 10% to 15%, an exceedingly high figure. Yet, even among those who are aware they have hypertension, many fail to seek medical attention or do not adhere to prescribed medication regimens. In such cases, it is essential to educate them about the serious risks involved and to demonstrate how specific interventions can yield significant improvements. Therefore, enhancing public health awareness is of paramount importance.

Can such a model truly attract experts?

Wang Jiansheng:To enhance public health awareness, we can attract greater participation from experts. I understand that all experts strive for excellence in their respective fields and aim to publish articles in prestigious journals. Such publications invariably require substantial data, which necessitates long-term accumulation or meticulous modular study design after careful planning. Achieving this goal requires broader involvement. Therefore, I often joke with primary care hospitals: “Set up a refrigerator and properly store the more than 3,000 blood samples collected annually through health checkups. After two years of accumulation, I believe prominent experts will seek collaboration with you, providing guidance on how to conduct scientific research.”

Some friends have argued that physician groups within the public healthcare system are not sustainable in the long run. Have you considered developing your practice outside the public system? What are the respective advantages and disadvantages of operating within versus outside the public healthcare system?

Wang Jiansheng:Regrettably, I am not well-versed in the distinctions between the public and private sectors, as I have always worked within the public sector. Over the years, I would not consider myself particularly intelligent; if there is one thing I have done wisely, it is my consistent commitment to rural outreach programs. I believed this approach would allow me to accumulate slightly more experience and resources, given that I lacked advantages in other areas.

To be a good doctor, the most crucial factor is actually the platform you work on. If your supervisor is an academician or a highly distinguished figure, you are naturally perceived as outstanding because you are part of an elite team. However, resources within such high-performing teams are often limited. Most people, like myself, can only realize their life’s value in ordinary, routine positions. Therefore, I believe it is impossible to make a definitive judgment about the merits of working within or outside the public healthcare system. As someone currently within the system, I find my situation acceptable, but since I have no experience with the private sector, I am unable to offer a comparative evaluation.

What are the near-term goals of the consortium, and what do you envision as its mature or late-stage form?

Wang Jiansheng:Our short-term goal is to establish a service network covering the entire Shaanxi region, with a population of 37.8 million. Using the prevention and control of breast diseases as an entry point, we aim to complete the data collection and registration of breast cancer incidence, mortality, and treatment outcomes across Shaanxi. Additionally, this network will extend its reach to neighboring provinces. This constitutes our immediate objective.Our long-term vision is to build a platform network covering surrounding provinces, serving a population of nearly 200 million. This platform will provide more physicians with opportunities to showcase their expertise and supply objective data to support government decision-making. Such a large-scale platform will inevitably generate commercial opportunities. As for the specific nature of these commercial opportunities, I have not yet fully formulated a strategy. I emphasize the importance of teamwork; for the collaborative group to develop, we must consider how to optimize our services, determine what value we can deliver to the public, and identify how we can contribute to the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis assessment of specific diseases.

Does the university or hospital administration support this work? How is it evaluated?

Wang Jiansheng:Our schools and hospitals have been very supportive of our work. Initially, they may not have perceived significant immediate benefits, resulting in somewhat limited support. However, as the positive outcomes became evident, their support naturally intensified. Therefore, it was already a good sign that they did not oppose us at the outset. Indeed, they had no reason to object, as we conducted voluntary services during our spare time, leveraging our professional expertise to promote the hospital, our department, and our team. There is nothing detrimental about this approach. For the general public, it provides access to specialist consultations right at their doorstep. For primary care physicians, it offers opportunities to learn from renowned experts. For the government, these benefits are achieved without incurring additional salary costs. Thus, it is a win-win situation for all parties involved.

How many patients has the collaborative group helped on internet platforms?

Wang Jiansheng:Our collaborative group only began leveraging internet platforms for our work last year. Since August of this year, we have launched a platform covering a specific region. Preliminary statistics indicate that we provide diagnostic services and assistance to approximately 140 patients per week. As previously mentioned, upward referrals are very few, whereas downward referrals are relatively common.

Currently, I serve as the platform’s expert. There are over 247 physicians at the associate chief physician level or above, and nearly 1,000 at the attending physician level or above, bringing the total number of healthcare professionals on our platform to approximately 4,000. To my knowledge, each village doctor in Shaanxi Province serves a population of around 1,000 people and sees at least two to three patients per day. With more than 4,000 rural doctors on our platform, the potential service volume can be calculated, indicating that our current performance still falls far short of this capacity.

What issues do you think should be addressed when private hospitals organize such public science education campaigns?

Wang Jiansheng:I believe it is more convenient for private hospitals to organize such popular science lectures. Compared with public hospitals, private hospitals have flexible mechanisms and can act more quickly. The only point to note is that they must adhere to public welfare and not carry out this work merely to increase patient intake; the public-welfare nature must be strictly maintained. Once public welfare is well implemented, a brand will be established. With brand recognition, the public will gain trust, leading to evident social and economic growth for private hospitals. Many private hospitals in Shaanxi Province have performed well in this regard. In short, adhering to public welfare is the most important factor.

Is the Northwest Collaborative Group a single large group or composed of many smaller groups? What is Professor Wang’s perspective on group development?

Wang Jiansheng:"The Northwest Collaborative Group" is our official designation. It is not merely a chat group; indeed, we are currently unable to establish large-scale groups. As I am not an IT specialist, we intend to partner with a specialized company to develop a dedicated platform that can integrate all our team members. Building such a platform will require a certain amount of time, but our team members are willing to adopt it. If executed well, the Northwest Collaborative Group is expected to reach approximately 6,000 members. We are currently making every effort toward this goal, and I will report back to you on our progress should we succeed.

Has the adoption of a collaborative group model significantly improved the diagnostic and treatment accuracy for breast diseases?

Wang Jiansheng:Our work has primarily increased the detection rate of breast diseases, particularly early-stage breast cancer, and has also improved the accuracy of treatment for these conditions. Patients with breast diseases often exhibit two contrasting behaviors. I once wrote a blog post titled “A Tale of Two Extremes,” in which I described how many patients exaggerate their condition, seeking medical advice and treatment everywhere; conversely, many others suffer from significant mammary gland hyperplasia or are diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer but fail to take it seriously. They are reassured that it is merely hyperplasia and nothing to worry about, only to seek treatment later when the lump has grown larger and axillary lymph nodes become involved, by which time the disease has progressed due to delay. Through our collaborative efforts, it is crucial to enhance village doctors and primary-care physicians’ awareness of breast cancer prevention, enabling them to promptly refer patients to specialized hospitals for examination or to guide them on appropriate diagnostic tests.

Professor Wang, what are the most frequently diagnosed diseases on our platform?

Wang Jiansheng:As an oncologist, many of the diseases addressed on our platform are cancer-related, including common malignancies such as breast cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, and gastric cancer. At the primary care level, gallstones and cholecystitis are the most prevalent conditions, and we manage a large number of patients with these disorders. We also frequently handle obstetric, gynecologic, and pediatric issues. Therefore, our focus remains primarily on common and frequently occurring diseases. While my personal expertise lies in tumor diagnosis, our team is comprehensively staffed with specialists across various fields. Leveraging our connections with numerous tertiary hospitals, we invite relevant experts to join specific patient groups when particular diseases generate high inquiry volumes, providing professional guidance. Consequently, our current group structure is quite comprehensive, functioning akin to a large general hospital.

What services do internet platforms provide to patients or doctors?

Wang Jiansheng:I believe that internet platforms can currently assist patients in two key areas. First, they can support primary care physicians by helping them make accurate diagnoses and providing oversight or recommendations for subsequent treatment plans. Second, they can help patients find suitable specialists. For instance, some patients are diagnosed with severe kidney disease at primary care hospitals, but nephrology beds are currently scarce across all hospitals. Through our green channel, we can connect these patients with experts to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.