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The growth period for the internet medical industry is coming
Release time:
2025-03-12 09:43
Internet+ shopping is already "old," but Internet+ healthcare is still "young"—
This "Double Eleven," Alibaba announced that Tmall's total transaction volume reached 213.5 billion yuan, 45.3 billion more than last year, completely subverting traditional physical retail. This shows that the internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain have already deconstructed and reshaped the consumer sector.
In comparison, in the medical field, which is closely related to public health, when people mention "Internet+", their understanding is still limited to online appointment registration. However, in the opinion of industry insiders, Internet+ healthcare can do far more than online registration. In fact, what has been successfully applied to online shopping can also be implemented in Internet+ healthcare.
"When patients are waiting in the hospital, they can completely chat with AI (artificial intelligence) first, detailing their main symptoms and medical history. By the time they see the doctor, the system has already input the preliminary information, and both parties can directly get to the point." Xie Guotong, chief medical scientist of Ping An Technology, believes that issues like having to make multiple trips to the hospital because imaging examination times don't coincide, or having to queue to have a doctor prescribe long-term medications, these "troubles" will cease to be problems because Internet+ can overcome the barriers of time and space. A large proportion of the over 500,000 daily consultations handled by Ping An Good Doctor are completed by AI.
In addition to providing convenience for patients, from the doctor's perspective, Jiao Shunchang, director of the Oncology Professional Committee of the Chinese Research-Oriented Hospital Association, also has higher hopes for Internet+ healthcare: "To free doctors from heavy, mechanical tasks such as entering medical records and writing laboratory order forms, to provide patients with more technically advanced medical services, and to allow doctors to experience a stronger sense of professional fulfillment."
Recently, the National Health Commission issued three documents: "Administrative Measures for Internet Diagnosis and Treatment (Trial)", "Administrative Measures for Internet Hospitals (Trial)", and "Service Management Standards for Telemedicine (Trial)". The industry views this as a significant development. With the clear encouragement from the national level for the development of Internet+ healthcare, the strong wait-and-see attitude that once lingered in the hearts of hospitals, internet companies, and investors has become clearer. The "young" Internet+ healthcare industry, after brewing, fermenting, and lying dormant, and after receiving the "approval" of authoritative departments, is rapidly entering the "growth stage."
Decisions Made, All Parties Eager to Promote "Increased Efficiency" in Medical Services
"Once access is clarified, we will truly enter the stage of adding value to medical services." Zhang Wanning, chairman of Health Road (China) Information Technology Co., Ltd., said that the three documents mainly answered two previously ambiguous questions in the industry: first, without owning a physical hospital, can Internet+ healthcare services be carried out? Second, who bears the primary responsibility for providing internet healthcare services?
Previously, there was no clear national policy on the first question. There were pilot explorations in places like Yinchuan, but due to the lack of clear policies, the market had different judgments on whether internet companies could obtain licenses to practice in Internet+ healthcare, leading to fluctuating attitudes. Zhang Wanning said that around 2017, the industry experienced a winter.
The new regulations allow third-party platforms (internet companies) to obtain licenses to practice, but they must sign contracts with physical hospitals. "This actually resolves the second question of who bears the responsibility." Zhang Wanning said that formal, large-scale internet companies have the willingness and ability to fulfill their own primary responsibilities, and signing a reliance agreement with a hospital as a prerequisite for obtaining a license to practice is a "double insurance" for patients.
Furthermore, the three documents clarify the positioning of internet companies. "The role of internet companies is to improve the synergy of medical resource supply through the provision of information services, and not to replace hospitals in improving medical supply." Zhang Wanning emphasized that internet companies are correctly positioned when they use technical means to improve the efficiency of medical resources.
Thus, the controversy over how Internet+ healthcare should develop has been "resolved" and "set the tone."
"Currently, local governments are constructing regulatory platforms." Zhang Wanning said that the new regulations require that before approving access to internet hospitals, government agencies must first establish provincial-level internet healthcare service regulatory platforms. In other words, without a provincial-level internet healthcare service regulatory platform, internet hospitals cannot be approved.
"Provinces such as Ningxia and Hainan have previously conducted extensive exploration and experimentation in the Internet+ healthcare industry and have already built similar regulatory platforms. Other provinces are also actively building them." Zhang Wanning said, for example, Hainan Province has opened its provincial telemedicine system to all levels and types of medical institutions across the province and uses it as a provincial internet healthcare service regulatory platform.
"I believe that third-party platforms will soon obtain medical institution licenses to practice and provide more convenient internet diagnosis and treatment services." Zhang Wanning said that companies are also actively seeking cooperation and signing contracts with hospitals to provide patients with department services that match the contracted physical hospital.
Complete Record Keeping, AI Error Correction: New Technologies Continuously Emerge to Guarantee Two Major Aspects of Safety
The spokesperson for the Health Commission once emphasized, when authoritatively interpreting the document "Opinions on Promoting the Development of "Internet + Medical and Health," that promoting the development of "Internet + medical and health" must guarantee two aspects of safety: medical quality safety and data information safety.
Unlike online shopping, healthcare is related to major health issues and also involves absolute privacy. So, will these two "high thresholds" hinder medical services from leveraging the internet?
"New technologies can be relied upon to find solutions to safety issues." Xie Guotong believes that new technologies can even improve the quality of medical services and make medical services safer.
"China has 8 billion outpatient visits per year, with about half occurring in secondary and below secondary hospitals. The standardization of treatment for these 4 billion visits is very worrying. Research data shows that the proportion of standardized operations in grassroots-level treatment is relatively low, possibly less than half." Xie Guotong said. "Standardization is precisely what information technology excels at." He believes that through big data analysis and artificial intelligence, auxiliary decisions can be provided for clinical diagnosis, like a "Navigator," reminding doctors to operate in a standardized manner during diagnosis and providing diagnosis and treatment suggestions that balance standardization and personalization.
In addition, Ping An Medical Technology has also helped medical regulatory departments in multiple regions to establish quality control platforms for Internet+ healthcare. Xie Zhenzhong, general manager of Ping An Medical AI platform and director of the Ping An Medical Information Security Research Institute, introduced that the pathology and radiological imaging regulatory quality control platforms of health commissions in provinces such as Shanghai and Henan, which are gradually expanding their use, have adopted this technology.
"In terms of information data security, Ping An Medical Technology has also jointly established a joint laboratory for medical and patient information network security with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology to research how to block loopholes from the network security level after the hospital's data walls are "broken." Xie Zhenzhong said that blockchain technology is being used. For example, Renji Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has already carried out research on information sharing in medical consortia based on blockchain technology and artificial intelligence technology.
For patients, one of the most intuitive safety guarantees in internet diagnosis and treatment is complete record keeping. The consultation process can be video-recorded, audio-recorded, and filmed, and there will also be written records. Zhang Wanning said that in 2016, the then Health Commission conducted a risk survey, and the results showed that there were no disputes in internet healthcare. "Everything is recorded; the higher the level of informatization, the better the risk control."
Separating Medicine and Treatment is No Longer Difficult: Extending the "Reach" of Medical Services
A hypertensive patient simply ran out of medication, but their condition hasn't changed, so they need a refill. Previously, they would have had to register and queue up, waiting for hours to see a doctor who would then prescribe the medication." Xie Guotong said that this scenario will no longer be the case. According to the new regulations, follow-up consultations and prescriptions for chronic disease patients can be handled through internet hospitals.
Correspondingly, when prescriptions can be transferred, the separation of medicine and healthcare will no longer be difficult. "Patients can use prescriptions from internet hospitals to buy medicine from online pharmacies, and logistics will deliver the medicine directly to the patient's home." Zhang Wannable said.
Just as online shopping has led fewer people to go to malls, internet + healthcare also hopes to lead fewer people to hospitals, while allowing different patients to find the right hospital and the right doctor.
"A cardiovascular disease and oncology expert once told me that more than half of the people shouldn't be seeing him." Xie Guotong said that efficient utilization of medical resources requires tiered healthcare. People with mild conditions can use automated means, such as mobile APPs and self-management, to manage their own health well, delaying the onset of disease by five years, while those with severe conditions should be matched with the most appropriate and standardized medical resources for proper treatment.
If, in the near future, you see a robot assistant at a clinic near your Community, don't be surprised. "We are deploying auxiliary diagnosis systems in Ping An's Wanjia clinics and 40 primary public hospitals to ensure the standardization of these clinics and recommend treatment plans to doctors. This is where AI can add value." Xie Guotong said that improving the quality of diagnosis and treatment in primary clinics and Community hospitals is one of the important tasks of tiered medical care. (Zhang Jiaxing)
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