Shanghai Smart Healthcare Cardiac Experts Alliance Files IPO Prospectus: Equity Incentives and Remote Consultation as Core Strategies

Wang Yifan (left), Vice President of the Shanghai Smart Healthcare Cardiology Expert Alliance, signs an agreement with Yitikang

On July 12, the Shanghai Smart Healthcare Cardiology Expert Alliance (hereinafter referred to as the “Alliance”) was officially established. Concurrently, Shanghai Lenian Health Management Consulting Co., Ltd. was established as the operational entity of the Alliance, with Wang Yifan serving as the person in charge.

It is reported that the alliance’s initial operational team comprised six members: four medical experts and two management and operations personnel. The experts were Zhang Dadong, Medical Director of Shanghai Yuan Da Heart Hospital; Fan Huimin, Director of the Heart Failure Specialty at Oriental Hospital; Li Jingbo, Director of the Department of Cardiology at Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital; and Zhu Wenqing from the Department of Cardiology at Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University. The two operations staff members were led by Wang Yifan. Among them, Zhang Dadong served as President of the Alliance, overseeing medical technical expertise, while Wang Yifan served as Executive Vice President, responsible for team operations and management.

Wang Yifan disclosed to VCBeat that the alliance currently comprises approximately 80 physicians, all of whom hold the title of Associate Chief Physician or higher at Shanghai’s Grade A tertiary hospitals and district central hospitals. The alliance adopts a core expert partnership model and will later implement an option pool mechanism (reserving approximately 30% equity) to attract outstanding physicians to join.

Differentiated Capabilities

Wang Yifan, Executive Vice President of the Alliance, believes that at present, both private and public physician groups rely entirely or predominantly on direct or indirect surgical procedures as their primary source of revenue. While surgery is undoubtedly the most critical component of healthcare, it does not encompass the entire medical care process, particularly when considering different diseases or medical specialties.

Wang Yifan stated that the alliance’s differentiated model is tailored to the characteristics of cardiovascular diseases. By leveraging the resources and expertise of its specialist platform and utilizing remote ECG monitoring—a mobile health product—the alliance delivers comprehensive services covering the entire care continuum, including consultation, preoperative monitoring, surgery, postoperative follow-up, and medication management.

The Alliance has currently signed strategic cooperation agreements with ECG monitoring hardware manufacturers such as Beijing Yitikang, Shenzhen Edan, and Nihon Kohden (Japan). These strategic partners provide remote ECG monitoring terminals to the Alliance, and both parties share the revenue generated from patient services.

Wang Yifan introduced to VCBeat, “The remote monitoring terminal we selected is handheld, about two-thirds the size of a mobile phone, and can be carried around, allowing patients to measure and upload data at any time. The main purpose of this design is to integrate mobile internet with traditional healthcare.”

HC-201 Portable ECG Monitor Provided by the Alliance for Patients

Through remote ECG monitoring terminals such as the HC-201, patients’ relevant health data are uploaded to a monitoring platform for physicians’ analysis and consultation. If surgery is required, patients can schedule procedures via “Yilianbang,” a WeChat-based platform developed by the alliance, which facilitates appointments with hospitals and specialists in Shanghai.

Hardware Free, Service Charged

Wang Yifan revealed that the alliance primarily charges service fees by providing bundled consultation packages for patients undergoing ECG monitoring. In the initial phase, the alliance will offer monthly subscription services; upon purchase, patients will receive remote ECG monitoring devices free of charge and may select their preferred physicians to provide consultation and diagnostic services. In later stages, if patients have other needs—such as those resembling general practitioner services—these may be considered, depending on the alliance’s development trajectory.

Additionally, the alliance will assign dedicated personnel to coordinate surgical appointments. The platform will charge a one-time service fee upon successfully scheduling a surgery for a patient. The fee varies depending on factors such as the patient’s condition, the specialist’s availability and expertise, and the patient’s specific requests.

The alliance generates profit through services, and thus places particular emphasis on service quality. The platform employs a patient review mechanism to evaluate service performance; for providers with poor service quality, the alliance implements corresponding measures to ultimately achieve a competitive outcome where the superior prevail and the inferior are eliminated.

Regarding the potential risk of doctor-patient disputes, Wang Yifan stated that the alliance will sign relevant contracts with partner hospitals in advance, specifying in the contracts that surgical risks shall be borne by the partner hospitals. As for future collaboration with pharmaceutical e-commerce platforms, the alliance is actively communicating with Zhongxie Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Group, and applying to the relevant national authorities for an independent drug sales qualification. Once the drug sales qualification is obtained, the alliance will recommend that patients purchase prescription drugs on the alliance’s platform based on prescriptions issued by physicians at offline hospitals.

Discussion Salon at the Alliance Inaugural Conference

Revenue Mechanism for the Core Team

Currently, all physicians in the alliance are part-time. The allocation of stock options to each physician is determined by the operations team, taking into account the physician’s level of contribution and whether they are employed full-time or part-time. Wang Yifan stated that prior to the establishment of its proprietary cardiac surgery platform, the alliance will primarily rely on part-time physicians. Full-time physicians will be considered under two circumstances: first, to meet the needs of externally partnered heart centers; and second, to oversee medical quality control. The alliance will provide full-time physicians with insurance benefits comparable to those offered to physicians within the public healthcare system, and will also furnish part-time physicians with medical malpractice liability insurance.

Excellent physicians are the core resources of an institution, and the Alliance places great emphasis on strengthening team cohesion.

Wang Yifan stated that physicians currently derive income from three sources: first, personal brand promotion, which constitutes an intangible form of revenue; second, fees from electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring and additional patient appointments, both of which are contingent on the physician’s patient volume; and third, surgical income.

Next, the Alliance will consider partnering with cardiac centers at public or private institutions to rapidly establish a foothold, accumulate experience in building its own surgical platform, and provide ample room for business development by its core physician team.