Hangzhou Launches Cross-Provincial Referral System with Integrated Medical Insurance Settlement

On December 30, the Hangzhou Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission, in collaboration with the Hangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Hangzhou Citizen Card Company, and WeDoctor Group, launched a city-level platform for scheduling cross-provincial referral appointments at hospital clinics. The system is now fully operational in 10 hospitals under Hangzhou municipal administration. Patients can not only schedule consultations with specialists in Beijing and Shanghai directly from their doctors’ offices but also enjoy direct settlement of out-of-town medical insurance at 38 designated cross-provincial referral hospitals. These referral institutions include top-tier hospitals such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital and the Chinese PLA General Hospital in Beijing, and Huashan Hospital in Shanghai.

It is reported that after Hangzhou residents seek medical care at municipal-level hospitals in Hangzhou, outpatient specialists will provide referral recommendations based on the patients’ conditions. If a patient requires a referral, the outpatient specialist will assist them in selecting corresponding referral hospitals and physicians in Beijing or Shanghai, and help schedule appointments. Patients can then visit the referral hospital with the “Referral Consent Form.” Should any issues arise during transit, professional service staff from WeDoctor Group will provide expert assistance and end-to-end support.

The Hangzhou Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission stated that in 2014, Hangzhou established a citywide unified two-way referral platform connecting all municipal hospitals and 45 community health service centers in urban districts. In the first quarter of 2015, the total number of outpatient and emergency visits by municipally insured patients at community health service institutions in the main urban areas increased by 32.48% year-on-year, significantly higher than the 17.41% growth rate observed at secondary and tertiary hospitals. The healthcare delivery pattern of “initial consultation at primary care facilities and two-way referrals” has been basically established in Hangzhou.

After the basic framework for two-way referrals within Hangzhou was established, the city began considering the creation of platforms for cross-provincial referrals of complex and difficult cases. WeDoctor Group undertook the development of this referral platform, marking its latest initiative in the field of tiered diagnosis and treatment following its collaboration with the Tongxiang Municipal Government to co-establish the Wuzhen Internet Hospital. After securing $300 million in major financing in 2015, WeDoctor Group allocated a significant portion of the funds to building its tiered diagnosis and treatment system. Currently, WeDoctor Group has connected over 1,900 key hospitals and 200,000 physicians at these hospitals across 27 provinces in China, with more than 110 million registered real-name users.