Digital healthcare nurtures innovation

The digital healthcare sector has constantly been expanding. In 2021, China's digital healthcare market surged 79.5 percent on a yearly basis to 28.9 billion yuan ($4.1 billion), according to a recent report from market research company AskCI Consulting. The market is forecast to grow to 43.6 billion yuan by the end of this year.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, more users have tended to seek medical services online. In 2021, China's registered users of digital healthcare platforms grew 6.95 percent year-on-year to 707 million, and the number is forecast to reach 810 million by the end of this year, according to AskCI Consulting.

"Ever since the pandemic broke out, residents' habits in terms of hospital visits have constantly been changing," the consulting company's report said. "The volume of internet users has been rapidly growing, and platforms such as internet hospitals, healthcare management sites and e-commerce pharmacies have seen very rapid development. Internet hospitals accounted for 47.9 percent of platforms."

By June, there were over 1,700 internet hospitals in China, according to the 2022 Survey on China's Internet Hospitals released by online healthcare service provider VBData.cn. Shandong, Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces have the greatest number of internet hospitals. More public as well as private medical facilities are used for setting up internet hospitals.

The government also has frequently released policies to support the sector. Between 2018 and 2022, China issued 88 policies on internet hospitals, mainly focused on standardizing the price of digital healthcare and promoting public healthcare insurance settlements for online medical services.

In May, the National Medical Products Administration issued a guideline for online drug regulation during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25). It offered specific plans to promote the digital and intelligent transformation of the pharmaceutical industry, and to encourage the comprehensive digital transformation of the country's healthcare system.

In August, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued provisions for the supervision and management of retail online medications, further clarifying the legality of online drug sales and raising standards for the rapidly developing industry. The provisions will take effect on Dec 1.

"To ensure residents' drug safety to the greatest extent, the provisions encourage and assist e-commerce pharmacies in continuing to offer convenience to the public," said Liu Tong, senior vice-president of government relations at Nasdaq-listed online pharmacy 111 Inc. "While the provisions raised compliance requirements for enterprises, they boost the long-term, sustainable development of the industry."

Chen Jia, an independent researcher of international strategies, said: "When the pandemic broke out, the habit of seeing a doctor online became engrained in residents' lives. Digital healthcare is serving as a critical supplement to the public healthcare system, helping local areas take measures in epidemic prevention and control.

"Digital healthcare has changed Chinese patients' habits. Previously, patients waited in line at hospitals to make a doctor's appointment. Now, they can make appointments online in advance. Also, patients' healthcare records are stored online. Their user experience has been greatly improved."

"Looking ahead, to promote the high-quality development of digital healthcare, enterprises should explore niche fields. In addition, digital technologies such as 5G, big data and artificial intelligence should be further applied in the healthcare system, so as to play a bigger role in digital healthcare," said Yuan Shuai, deputy secretary-general of the Rural Revitalization Committee.