Video Consultation: Innovating Mobile Healthcare Delivery Models

According to the “35th Statistical Report on Internet Development in China” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”) released by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) this February, the user base of the online video industry has been growing steadily since 2008. As of December 2014, the number of online video users reached 433 million, an increase of 4.78 million from the end of the previous year. This figure continues to rise in tandem with the growth of China’s internet population.

Mobile VideoOnce an unfamiliar term to the general public, "mobile video" has now become a household name. Driven by continuous innovations in internet technology and the upgrade of mobile applications facilitated by 4G networks, mobile video has entered a phase of rapid development, allowing the general public to increasingly enjoy the numerous conveniences it offers. Characterized by diverse formats, large information capacity, strong interactivity, high-quality user experience, and extensive reach, these features have spurred the application of mobile video across broader fields, such as entertainment, mobile healthcare, and smart home solutions.

According to VCBeat’s statistics, the application of mobile video in the field of mobile healthcare currently features several mainstream models both domestically and internationally: disease treatment tools, fitness and exercise applications, surgical video information services, and video consultation applications. This article approaches the topic from the perspective of the recently popular “Internet + Healthcare” initiative, focusing primarily on the application of mobile video in mobile medical consultation models.

Video consultation apps are already quite common abroad.

Abroad, the application of mobile video to mobile healthcare has long been established.

American Well is the first telemedicine service provider in the United States to be certified by the American Telemedicine Association, with a focus on video consultation services. The company delivers healthcare services to patients in their homes or workplaces. Leveraging its mobile and web platforms, patients can connect with clinicians via video, secure text messaging, and phone calls to achieve online consultations. Currently, American Well charges $49 per 10-minute session.

HealthTap is a healthcare-focused website founded in 2010. It started as a Q&A platform that brings together professional physicians to answer questions. In July 2014, HealthTap launched new services: HealthTap Prime and Live Health Online. For a monthly fee of $99, users can have video consultations with doctors, achieving the effect of telemedicine.

Doctor On Demand is a mobile health app that connects doctors with patients, enabling users in need to obtain professional assistance via video at any time. When you require care, you simply provide a brief description of your issue, and Doctor On Demand sends your request to all physicians on the platform. Once a doctor accepts your request, you can begin a video consultation directly. During the video session, you can also send photos to the doctor to help them assess your condition. However, Doctor On Demand’s fee of $40 per visit is considerably more expensive compared to HealthTap.

Domestic mobile healthcare primarily relies on text- and image-based consultations, while video consultation models are emerging.

In China, although mobile healthcare started relatively late, it has developed rapidly. In 2014, in particular, the sector experienced explosive growth, with major investors, pharmaceutical companies, and entrepreneurs entering the market. Currently, the most widely recognized platform is Chunyu Yisheng (Spring Rain Doctor), an early mover that primarily offers lightweight medical consultations. Its consultation model has been adopted by the vast majority of mobile healthcare applications in China.

In mobile health applications such as Chunyu Yisheng, users describe their symptoms and questions via text or uploaded images. After a waiting period, physicians respond to inquiries through text messages during their breaks. This consultation model effectively utilizes physicians’ fragmented time while respecting users’ preferences for privacy protection and text-based communication, thereby gaining popularity among many users. However, as time has passed, the limitations of text-based consultations have become increasingly apparent: if users provide inaccurate descriptions or present complex symptoms, multiple rounds of Q&A are required, consuming considerable time and significantly diminishing user experience. In contrast, enabling direct video connections between physicians and patients allows doctors to make more accurate assessments by observing patients’ mental state, body weight, limb conditions, and other physical appearances. Currently, integrating mobile video into mobile healthcare has become a new frontier actively explored by some online hospitals and entrepreneurs seeking innovation in the mobile health sector.

“Cloud Hospital” Video Consultations Are Gaining Momentum
The “Cloud Hospital” initiative shares the same underlying logic as the rapidly growing internet healthcare sector over the past year. In the era of “Internet Plus,” the “Cloud Hospital” operates as a virtual hospital online and as a mixed-ownership hospital offline. Through online-offline integration, it provides appointment services for outpatient visits, inpatient care, diagnostic tests, and health check-ups, while also offering customized health management and consultation services.

In October 2014, the Guangdong Provincial Network Hospital, supported by tertiary hospitals, was officially launched at the Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital. It provided patients with the convenience of consulting specialists from tertiary hospitals via video call at community health centers or chain pharmacies, with a consultation fee of 10 yuan per session.

In March 2015, the “Ningbo Cloud Hospital” officially commenced operations. It launched online “cloud clinics” for hypertension, diabetes, psychological counseling, and general practice, providing consultation services via both video and text.

Furthermore, the Community Health Telemedicine Video Consultation Center in Dongcheng District, Beijing, has been established and put into operation. This video consultation center brings together associate chief physicians and above from various departments across 14 secondary and tertiary hospitals within the district, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing Tongren Hospital, and Dongzhimen Hospital. Each video consultation will be billed according to the specific circumstances.

Chunyu Doctor: Paid Dual Consultation Mode Combining Text and Video
Initially, Chunyu Doctor primarily offered text-based consultations, where users described their symptoms via text and uploaded images to receive medical advice. With the development of internet healthcare, the limitations of text-based consultations—such as poor user experience and time consumption—have become increasingly apparent. To ensure more thorough doctor-patient communication during consultations, provide more reliable and patient-tailored medical advice, and secure a competitive edge in the fiercely competitive market, it is imperative to introduce video consultation services. Chunyu Doctor has launched a video consultation model: users seeking video consultations first schedule an appointment with a physician and then engage in direct video communication. Under Chunyu’s video consultation model, the consultation fee is charged at a rate of RMB 26 per minute.

Micro Consultation: Deploying free video consultations, pioneering the implementation of video consultation functionality in the industry
Currently, "Wei Wenzhen" is the first platform in China to implement video consultation services. According to its official website, Wei Wenzhen is a medical service platform that operates its own team of doctors and pharmacists, providing 24/7 live voice and video consultations. In December 2013, it pioneered the deployment of video consultation terminals in over 10,000 contracted pharmacies across China. In March 2015, the Wei Wenzhen app was launched, allowing users to access free video consultations without registration, with doctors subsequently recording consultation details to complete personal health records. Users who are not accustomed to video consultations can opt for voice-based consultations. The live voice and video system constitutes the core component of Wei Wenzhen’s health consultation services.

It is reported that Wei Wenzhen plans to introduce a text-and-image consultation model into its existing service framework to better meet the needs of more users.

Happy Doctor: Follow-up Video Consultations and Building a “Doctor Circle”
In late September this year, TCL Group, one of China’s largest consumer electronics conglomerates with global operations, entered the mobile healthcare sector, announcing the establishment of a “TV+” ecosystem via its smart TV platform, encompassing TV+ Video, TV+ Education, TV+ Entertainment, and TV+ Health.

“Happy Doctor” is TCL Group’s strategic initiative in the healthcare sector. The upgraded “Happy Doctor 2.0” physician platform, developed in partnership with Keting, enables video consultations and features a dedicated “Physician Circle” to facilitate real-time professional exchange and enhance clinical expertise.

Warm Doctor: A Video Consultation Service Platform Dedicated to Improving the Medical Experience for the Middle Class
The Android version of the Wenyuan Doctor app was launched in May 2015. It is a video-based health consultation service platform primarily dedicated to improving the medical experience for the middle class. According to its official press releases, Wenyuan Doctor has received key support from the Tencent Open Platform. Leveraging Tencent Video’s interactive technology, it provides users with 20-minute online video consultation services, facilitating video communication between patients and physicians both online and within hospitals. Currently, Wenyuan Doctor adopts transparent pricing, with 20 minutes as the basic unit, and fees ranging from RMB 200 to RMB 500.

Video Consultations: The Innovation and Next Breakout Point in the Development of Mobile Healthcare in China
The application of mobile video in the field of mobile healthcare is inseparable from the widespread adoption of the internet. According to the “35th Statistical Report on China’s Internet Development” released by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), among urban internet users who access the internet via computers at home, the penetration rate of home Wi-Fi has reached a high level of 81.1%. This high prevalence of home Wi-Fi demonstrates that, driven by mobile video technologies, both remote precision consultations and video-based therapies now have adequate technical and market support.

However, it is worth noting that online consultation, as a sub-sector of internet healthcare that developed earlier, has reached a relatively mature stage abroad. It enables the complete process of routine primary care visits that do not require physical examinations—from health consultations and disease diagnosis to the issuance of electronic prescriptions—to be conducted online. In contrast, mobile healthcare started later in China, and video consultations still face numerous challenges.

Video consultations lack flexibility in terms of physicians’ time commitment. According to the “Report on Innovative Business Models for Online Consultations” published by VCBeat’s Internet Healthcare Research Institute, the primary modes of online consultation include email, online Q&A, instant messaging chat, SMS, telephone/voice calls, and video. Currently, most mobile health platforms in China rely on affiliated physicians to answer patient inquiries during their fragmented spare time. However, video consultation is a form of synchronous communication, which requires physicians to be online simultaneously with patients to provide immediate responses. This synchronous nature limits scheduling flexibility for part-time physicians, and consultation durations may also be unpredictable. This factor explains why Chunyu Yisheng (Spring Rain Doctor) requires advance appointments for its video consultation services. One effective approach to addressing this issue is to leverage dedicated medical resources. In China, some mobile health platforms with in-house physician teams, such as Wei Wenzhen (Micro Consultation) and Ping An Good Doctor, offer 24-hour video consultation services.

Physicians require tools that facilitate adequate patient communication and effective treatment delivery. Video consultations enable real-time, secure electronic clinical encounters, offering convenience to patients and enhancing their satisfaction. By leveraging this technology, physicians can bridge gaps in healthcare services, expand service coverage, reduce disparities in care, and improve patient adherence. In summary, video consultations are poised to become the next major growth driver in mobile health.

This article is a contribution to VCBeat by the author, Qiu Xue. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the position of VCBeat. Author: Qiu Xue, currently a freelancer specializing in public opinion analysis and copywriting.