PR92698

HANGZHOU, China, Oct. 29, 2021 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/

On 27 October, China's National Health Commission (NHC), the authority

responsible for the medical industry, issued a new policy that calls for the

regulation of China's fast-growing Internet healthcare industry. The policy is

expected to push China's internet healthcare industry into the era of

standardized development.

According to the NHC, as of June 2021, the number of Internet hospitals in

China has exceeded 1,600, the Internet hospital is the provider of online

medical services such as online consultations. The first Internet hospital in

China was established in 2015 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province by digital medical

service platform WeDoctor.

This policy has generated widespread interest within the Chinese healthcare

industry since its release. The regulatory policy on online medical

consultation has been well received within the industry, with the release of

the policy seen as beneficial to the development of the Internet healthcare

industry, especially for some of large digital medical platforms that engage

strictly online medical services.

The document, titled "Rules on the Regulation of Online Medical Consultation

(Draft for Comments)", states that physicians are required to authenticate

their real identity before providing consultations to ensure that such online

consultations are provided by the say doctor. Other people, AI software, etc.

are not allowed to impersonate or replace the physicians themselves. As a

result, some companies that focusing on using AI technology to provide

consultation services may be negatively impacted.

China does not allow Internet healthcare platforms to use consultations as a

tool for the sale of prescription drugs. The policy proposes that the

occurrence of unified prescriptions and prescription refills is prohibited,

that the personal income of healthcare workers must not be linked to income

from drugs and medical examinations, and that doctors must not designate

locations to purchase drugs and consumables.

Liao Jieyuan, founder of China's largest digital medical service platform

WeDoctor, believes that the policy has released a clear signal that online

medical consultation should be of the same quality as that provided by physical

institutions, reflecting China's determination to develop digital medical

services, which is essential for the standardized development and market

expansion of the Internet healthcare industry.

China's 1.4 billion people have a huge demand for healthcare services and

physical hospitals are unable to meet this demand. Platforms such as WeDoctor

have leverage technology to help alleviate the demand and supply imbalance in

China's healthcare industry.

According to a publicly released research report by CICC, with the regulatory

policies for Internet healthcare becoming more transparent and standardized,

companies providing actual medical services with a sound regulatory compliance

system are expected to benefit the most.

Source: WeDoctor