Internet-based tools allow medical centers to provide online services

Internet-based technologies that boost the development of China's digital healthcare have been leveraged during the COVID-19 epidemic to ensure provision of regular medical services and strengthen assistance delivered to hard-hit areas, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday.

Digital tools, such as big data and artificial intelligence, have enabled medical institutions to provide a range of services to the public online, including education campaigns on disease control measures, psychological consultation, distant diagnosis and management of chronic diseases, according to Mao Qun'an, head of the commission's planning department.

"These services have helped address some medical needs of the public and reduced the transmission risk at hospitals," he said.

In South China's Guangdong province — home to over 80 digital hospitals, about 584,000 healthcare consultations were conduced online as of August, including 51,000 sessions to fever clinics and 119,000 regarding the novel coronavirus, said Li Jianzhong, an official with the provincial health commission.

"Data shows that digital healthcare has alleviated pressure on physical hospitals and prevented cross-infections," he said.

Distant healthcare is also employed to bolster efforts of medical assistance sent to Central China's Hubei province, which was stricken hardest by the virus, health officials added.

Li said in Hubei's Jingzhou city — where medical aid workers from Guangdong province were based to fight the disease, nine remote diagnosis centers were set up during the height of the epidemic to facilitate communication between local health experts and those from outside the city.

"Through the online platform, we also stepped up training for medical staff about proper protective measures and standard treatment protocols," he added.

To assuage anxiety of overseas Chinese and spread reliable information on the epidemic, the commission launched an online health consultation platform on April 7, said Zhang Junhua, head of the commission's health human resources development center.

"As some overseas Chinese, including students studying abroad, were concerned about policies regarding travelers arriving in the country from foreign countries, we began releasing relevant information and explaining some technical issues, such as quarantine policies," he said.

As of now, the platform had been visited 150 million times, he added.

Mao, from the National Health Commission, said the commission will join efforts with other government departments to ramp up infrastructure designed for novel technologies and push for consolidation of information systems set up by local institutions.

In the meantime, more efforts will be dedicated to enlisting third parties to increase data analysis capability and intensifying protection of personal information.