Medical institutes and organizations have been promoting their respective medical services for cancer and blood disease patients in China since last year. (Photo : www.in.reuters.com)
The country’s major Internet companies, Alibaba, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Baidu Inc, have partnered with the healthcare sector to use technology and provide services that benefit hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, the China Daily reported.
"Although China's Internet healthcare industry is still in infancy, it has lured the country's Internet heavyweights, which are determined to reshape the sector with technology and service-oriented mindset," Lin Wenbin, a senior analyst at research company Analysys International, said.
According to the report, the healthcare sector is being revolutionized by Internet innovation where patients get the benefits of services that included online consultations and health data information.
The report cited the partnership between Alibaba and Hubei Chest Hospital in the smart app project that links up pharmacies with an e-prescription system developed by Alibaba.
"In future, this will drive more traffic to drugstores and further relieve pressure on the hospital," Li Denghui, president of Hebei Chest Hospital, said.
The report added that online technology was also responsible for the rapid transformation of hundreds of medical institutions. In April, an initiative called Cloud Hospital was launched by Alibaba at Hubei Chest Hospital, aimed at promoting partnerships between medical centers across the country.
On the other hand, Baidu signed a strategic partnership with EZTcn.com in July, enabling people to set an online appointment to see a doctor.
Tencent has also joined to help the sector by signing partnership deals with medical instrument manufacturers Guangdong Biolight Meditech Co. Ltd. in China and Scanadu, a medical devices maker based in Silicon Valley.
According to a report by Analysys International, the industry was worth 11.4 billion yuan ($1.79 billion) last year, an increase of 22.6 percent compared to the same period in 2013.
Data from the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., however, indicated that the overall healthcare sector in China was worth 2.63 trillion yuan ($413 billion) in 2014.
