Highlights from the GMIC 2015 Mobile Healthcare and Innovative Hospital Leaders Summit

On April 28, the three-day Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) officially kicked off in Beijing. This grand global summit has captured the attention of people worldwide, bringing together experts, scholars, elites, and industry leaders from various fields for vibrant discussions. They jointly explored the opportunities and challenges, as well as the present and future, of the mobile internet sector, allowing us to once again witness the miracles of science and fill us with anticipation for a brighter tomorrow.

That afternoon, the highly anticipated Mobile Internet Healthcare Branch Conference was also successfully held. Recalling the electrifying scene: the crowded audience packed the modest lecture hall to capacity, with people queuing anxiously outside for entry. As the venue was completely full, admission was managed on a one-out, one-in basis. This vividly demonstrates our near-fervent enthusiasm for mobile internet as an emerging industry. Fueled by such burning passion, I believe that any reform and innovation in healthcare will be unstoppable and ultimately realized.

Which noteworthy voices emerged from the summit? Let VCBeat provide a summary for you:
1. “Qiang Qiang San Ren Xing,” On-Site Guest Lineup: Zhang Jian (Beijing Friendship Hospital), Liu Xin (Ant Financial), Zhao Ke (AutoNavi Software).
Perspective: The inherent institutional framework of hospitals constitutes a formidable barrier that is difficult to surmount at the current stage, making it challenging for internet-based initiatives to gain significant traction within hospital settings. In contrast, there are substantial opportunities in the peripheral healthcare and medical services sector. Overall, the digitalization of healthcare represents a profound challenge to established paradigms and will inevitably be a protracted endeavor. Currently, internet technologies are gradually penetrating areas such as outpatient service centers, inpatient service centers, and physician consultation centers.
Alipay is also impacting healthcare insurance reforms, aiming to jointly improve and drive their development. To address the issue of concentrated elderly populations in hospitals and their slow adoption of new technologies, Alipay’s solution involves product optimization that allows relatives to assist with payments. Furthermore, Alipay is not solely focused on tertiary Grade A hospitals; it aims to expand its coverage in the future to include community hospitals, outpatient clinics, and other medical institutions.
In response to Jack Ma’s assertion that there will be no doctors in thirty years, panelists offered diverse perspectives. Some argued that it is difficult to predict or judge what the future holds. Others acknowledged that while technology can advance, certain bottom lines must be upheld: renowned physicians cannot be replicated, face-to-face interactions remain crucial, and online consultations can only address a portion of medical issues, especially given legal constraints such as those imposed by the Physicians Law. Among the three major categories—empirical medicine, evidence-based medicine, and precision medicine—greater emphasis will be placed on precision medicine in the future. Therefore, understanding individual patients and providing targeted treatments are vital, making it unlikely that doctors will be easily replaced. Overall, the field boasts broad prospects, but the journey ahead is long and arduous.

2 Andon Health CEO Liu Yi
Title: Health Management with Smart Hardware as the Entry Point
In 2009, Andon Health proposed the concept of “blood pressure monitor + smartphone,” using hardware as an entry point to collect big health data. The emergence of smartphones first enabled doctors to obtain meaningful data, and secondly allowed for continuous data collection from users. In 2010, iHealth was established in Silicon Valley and received strong support from Apple. The decision to develop the U.S. market was driven by the maturity of the American smartphone industry at that time, prompting a rapid market entry. U.S. law requires proof of actual brand promotion within three years; otherwise, trademark ownership will be revoked. Prior to Andon Health’s acquisition, the “iHealth” brand had attracted interest from two other companies, both of which unfortunately went bankrupt in succession. After securing the iHealth brand rights, Andon Health considered a fallback strategy: if the company were to face unfavorable development, incur losses, or go bankrupt, selling the iHealth trademark could still generate revenue to offset losses.
What does the company do? It starts by addressing essential needs. Medical treatment is a fundamental necessity for patients, and this need is even more critical for those with chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes that have not been effectively managed through conventional care. Therefore, the company has focused its efforts in this area. Its product portfolio includes Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure monitors (available in upper-arm and wrist models) and the BG5 blood glucose meter. Overall, the company’s future strategic focus lies in two key areas: “data collection” and “medical services/out-of-hospital health management.” In summary, its future product model is defined as “Hardware + App + Cloud.”
Liu Yi stated that there is still a long road ahead for medical services. Andon Health’s development plan is to create tools that enable doctors to access data and to develop tools dedicated to medical services, with future progress being made through continuous exploration.

3. Wu Zongxun, Chief Product Officer of Ping An Good Doctor
Key Product Advantages1. “Fast”: The hallmark of “Ping An Good Doctor” is “zero wait time.” Family doctors provide online consultation services, eliminating the need for patients to wait.2. “Thorough”: “Ping An Good Doctor” emphasizes meticulous medical care, guaranteeing a 15-minute consultation period for each diagnosis and treatment session.3. “Abundant”: With extensive doctor resources, “Ping An Good Doctor” offers one-on-one exclusive online family doctor services. It employs 1,000 full-time family doctors and has contracted 50,000 attending-level physicians who provide voluntary part-time consultations on a weekly basis.4. “Extensive”: Ping An has established partnerships with over 2,500 hospitals and more than 1,000 health examination institutions, enabling a broader user base to enjoy high-quality health and medical experiences provided by Ping An.5. “Convenient”: Users can consult doctors online anytime and anywhere. Minor ailments can be addressed through doctor consultations, while serious conditions facilitate appointments with specialists.6. “Customized”: A “52-Week Health Management Plan” is established specifically for individuals in sub-optimal health states and those with chronic diseases.7. “Trustworthy”: Ping An proactively integrates healthcare services with commercial health insurance, allowing users to entrust their health and well-being with confidence.
Highlights emphasize that "medical care" and "pharmaceuticals" are inseparable and should be integrated. Given the specialized nature of medications, which require professional medical judgment, Ping An Good Doctor ensures accessible care for minor illnesses at home and expert consultation for serious conditions, while also providing convenient pharmaceutical delivery to patients' doorsteps within two hours.

4. Zhao Xi (British-Chinese Trade Association) and Zhang Cheng (Pfizer China)
Key points: In the United States, mobile internet healthcare is primarily referred to as “Mobile Health,” while in the United Kingdom, it is termed “Digital Health.”

Zhao Xi—The Inverted Pyramid Model: From bottom to top, it comprises public health, community healthcare, telemedicine (primarily physician-to-physician consultations), and at the apex, specialized clinical care. This represents a progression from “home-based” care to “Tele-Care,” “Tele-Health,” and finally “Tele-Medicine,” reflecting an overall transition from health management to medical treatment. In foreign countries, there is no outpatient department system as seen in China; instead, community physicians serve as the first point of contact for patients and refer them to large hospitals when necessary.

Zhang Cheng — The Inverted Triangle Model: From top to bottom, it comprises disease awareness, pre-diagnosis, diagnosis and prescription, and follow-up management. Among these, the segment focused on patient follow-up and management holds the greatest value and is most worthy of exploration. The current state of internet healthcare in China reveals that the challenges lie in medical management models and system construction, rather than in technical issues.

5. Zhang Rui, CEO of Chunyu Doctor
It must be said that Zhang Rui is a passionate and highly charismatic leader. With his distinct personality, he did not hesitate to openly challenge the “vested interests” present at the event. He advocated that the essence of healthcare lies in rescue and dedication, rather than being an arena driven by desire for fame and fortune. He aspired never to position himself in opposition to the public or to become one of the vested interests.
In response to the severe shortage of physician resources, he proposed three solutions:
Option 1: Artificial Intelligence
For patients, Spring Rain offers an intelligent diagnostic system; for doctors, particularly clinicians with limited experience, it provides a clinical decision support system to reduce misdiagnosis rates.
Option 2: Internetization
Remote diagnosis introduces the concept of lightweight consultations; Chunyu Clinics will open 57 offline clinics on May 7. The overall model follows a 70% online and 30% offline development strategy. Currently, Chunyu Doctor leverages fragmented time slots to reduce physical costs, resolving an average of 80,000 inquiries per day, or 55 inquiries per minute.
Option 3: Changing the Driving Force
Zhang Rui believes that the current business model is fundamentally flawed and needs to shift from profiting by treating diseases to profiting by preventing them. Chunyu is currently exploring the M-HMO model and has already initiated collaborations with the national government.

6. Chai Ke, CEO of Dayima
Title: Data Rhythms in Mobile Health
According to statistics, Dayima has amassed 80 million users. This year, it also held the 2015 Women’s Physiological Health Cycle Press Conference, aiming to leverage data for diagnosis, treatment, and research. The prerequisite is that the data must first be useful; it does not necessarily need to be “big,” but rather valuable. In 2012, they focused on the niche area of female menstrual cycles as an entry point and actively explored various forms of collaboration with other companies. For instance, they partnered with Ctrip to offer a RMB 1 “Menstruation Insurance.” If customers needed to cancel their travel bookings due to inconvenience caused by their menstrual periods, they could obtain a refund by providing physiological data from Dayima as proof. Additionally, they collaborated with the Red Ribbon organization to host themed activities focused on caring for women’s health.
Chai Ke believes that the collected data should have the following characteristics:
(1) The data itself has independent value
Dayima collects data on the age at menarche and menstrual cycle length, specifically the start and end dates.
(2) The data structure must be complete.
The structure is as follows, from the base to the top: foundational data such as user behavior, data tracking, identification of fraudulent data, quality management, validation of BI (Business Intelligence) tools, in-depth analysis, key insights, and finally, informed decision-making. It is believed that only complete and well-structured data can lead to effective decisions.
(3) Data Possesses Ecosystem-Integration Capabilities
With the data ecosystem as the foundation, key information constitutes the process, decision-making is the ultimate outcome, and the pace of development equals the speed of ecosystem integration.

Only by integrating the first three points can meaningful health big data be created.

7. Li Zheng (Strategic Planning and Cooperation Department, Baidu Emerging Business Group)
Baidu has successfully completed its internet transformation and established a comprehensive mobile internet ecosystem. The current three-tier healthcare system suffers from significant waste, while information asymmetry between doctors and patients, coupled with an imbalance between supply and demand, has led to widespread public complaints about the difficulty of accessing medical care.
To address the challenge of “difficulty in accessing medical care,” Baidu has chosen appointment scheduling and mutual selection between doctors and patients as its initial steps into the mobile healthcare sector, committing to building China’s largest online platform for mutual doctor-patient selection. Baidu’s strategy is to “connect people with services,” and its goal in the healthcare domain is to bridge the gap between individuals and medical services.

8. Pang Tao (e-Healthcare), Gong Xiaoming (OB-GYN Network), Li Ziran (Peking University Cancer Hospital)
Although there are already successful cases of Hospital Information Technology (HIT) systems implemented within hospitals, the gap remains difficult to bridge for now due to the prevailing reluctance among hospitals to open up their data. However, overcoming this challenge is not a technical issue but rather a matter of shifting mindsets. We believe this will be achieved in the near future. For instance, hospitals in Wenzhou have taken the lead by integrating medical insurance with Alipay, offering a glimpse of hope. Once these barriers are torn down, interoperability and collaboration will become inevitable.