Apps reshaping industry, offering convenience

Waiting overnight for a diagnosis at a public hospital is a painful yet common experience for Chinese patients, while updating patients' records and studying can also be time-consuming for doctors. But now, multiple solutions are on offer to tackle these problems.

With the internet's increasing penetration into a wide range of industries, and people's rising awareness of and demand for healthcare, apps are reshaping China's healthcare industry, providing convenience for both patients and doctors.

A recent report published by VCBeat, an online healthcare website, said China's healthcare apps are maturing, as reflected in industry leaders' increasing ability to secure financing.

According to the report, the industry's financing volume grew from nearly 356 million yuan ($51.3 million) in 2015 to 1.37 billion yuan so far this year, despite a drop in the number of deals. Only six have been signed so far in 2018, barely one-fourth of the figure in 2015, which totaled 28. However, each financing deal averaged 22.78 million yuan in 2018, up from 13.18 million yuan in 2015.

"It is a good trend as it suggests China's healthcare apps are seeing industrial restructuring. Although the total number of players is shrinking, those that can best reflect and meet users' demand have survived, and are attracting better funding resources," said Zhuang Yiqiang, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Hospital Association.

But the trend also poses great challenges to newcomers, as they require innovative tech breakthroughs, such as adopting blockchain technology to manage patients' records, to attract funding and investment, and to compete with established market players, Zhuang said.

This is reflected in the data. In 2014, the number of healthcare app startups surged by 320 percent year-on-year, while the number in 2016 dropped 70 percent over 2015.

"In addition to tech breakthroughs, newcomers can also find opportunities by developing apps with more specialized functions. For instance, apps that assist doctors also have great room for development," Zhuang said.

In addition to apps that help patients make appointments, which are already commonly used nationwide, there are also educational apps for doctors' lifelong learning, communication apps for doctors to socialize, and personal assistant apps for doctors to manage patients' data and assist diagnosis.

Founded in 2000, DXY is one of China's largest online healthcare communities. It has now developed business in sectors including academic events, market research, medical equipment ads, bidding and tendering, with a wide range of clients including doctors, medical equipment sales people and pharmaceutical companies.

Another example is Xingshulin, an app that offers digital prescription services for doctors. It now has about one million users, accounting for one-third of the country's total registered doctors.

These apps can greatly benefit doctors by saving time and raising efficiency, as doctors can check patients' records and manage their profiles via their mobile phones, and conduct self-study in online communities.

"In the future, China's healthcare apps are more likely to adopt cutting-edge technologies such as cloud computing, big data and the internet of things," Zhuang said.