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The domestic mobile healthcare market scale will continue to expand in 2015.

2018-04-04


With the gradual deepening of medical reform, the pace of building healthcare information technology is also accelerating. Recently, regarding the construction of healthcare information technology, Wang Di, deputy secretary-general of the China Information Association, pointed out that the key to promoting the construction of healthcare information technology is to establish unified information technology standards, ensuring the smooth flow of various information across different levels and departments, and on this basis, integrating and enhancing the dispersed information systems in various regions. Currently, 80% of hospitals in China have implemented management information systems. The core of healthcare information technology construction is to achieve information sharing between patients and medical institutions, among various departments within hospitals, between hospitals, and between hospitals and communities, medical insurance departments, and health administrative departments. Therefore, experts believe that the current tasks of healthcare information technology construction in China mainly include promoting the construction of hospital information networks, actively developing telemedicine services for urban and remote areas, forming a nationally unified medical information network, quickly issuing feasible plans for the transfer and connection of medical insurance, achieving cross-regional settlement for medical services, and promoting the construction of regional health information platforms. Clarifying the scope and standards of basic medical services mainly considers three aspects: first, to define the scope of basic medical insurance benefits, ensuring that employees can receive appropriate treatment technologies and medical services that are affordable and available when they are ill, providing basic medical security for employees; second, to control the expenditure of basic medical insurance funds, maximizing the utility of limited basic medical insurance funds; third, to strengthen the management of medical services. The scope and standards of basic medical services should include the basic medical insurance drug catalog, diagnosis and treatment items, standards for medical service facilities, and their management methods. Traditional medical services (hospitals, pharmacies) mainly reflect "standalone solutions," while mobile medical solutions have greater medical resources and can provide better services for patients. It is expected that the domestic mobile medical market size will increase to 4.2 billion yuan in 2015 and reach 12.5 billion yuan in 2017, with a compound annual growth rate of over 50% from 2013 to 2017. Compared to traditional medical models, mobile medical services have significant advantages both clinically and economically: the emergency and inpatient department visit rates can decrease by 15%-30%, the overall utilization rate of the healthcare system can reduce by 20%-40%, and the number of readmissions can be halved. Currently, domestic mobile medical services are still in the initial stage, mainly relying on profit models such as advertising, value-added services, and online consultations. In 2013, the market size of peripheral services related to mobile medical (health consultation) reached 1.3 billion yuan, while the market size for mobile diagnostic services was only 250 million yuan, and treatment services were merely 200 million yuan. The management of chronic diseases is the reason most patients (or doctors) choose mobile medical services, and the market will continue to expand.
With the gradual deepening of medical reform, the pace of construction of healthcare information technology is also accelerating. Recently, regarding the construction of healthcare information technology, Wang Di, deputy secretary-general of the China Information Association, pointed out that the key to promoting the construction of healthcare information technology is to formulate unified information technology standards, ensuring the smooth flow of various information across different levels and departments, and on this basis, integrating and enhancing the dispersed information systems in various regions.
 
80% of hospitals in China have implemented management information systems. The core of healthcare information technology construction is to achieve information sharing between patients and medical institutions, among various departments within hospitals, between hospitals, and between hospitals and communities, medical insurance departments, and health administrative departments.
 
Therefore, experts believe that the current tasks of healthcare information technology construction in China mainly include promoting the construction of hospital information networks, actively developing telemedicine services for urban and remote areas, forming a nationally unified medical information network, quickly introducing feasible plans for the transfer and connection of medical insurance, achieving cross-regional settlement for medical services, and promoting the construction of regional health information platforms.
 
Clearly defining the scope and standards of basic medical services mainly considers three aspects: first, to delineate the scope of basic medical insurance benefits, ensuring that employees can receive appropriate treatment technologies and medical services that are affordable and available when they are ill, providing basic medical security for employees; second, to control the expenditure of basic medical insurance funds, maximizing the utility of limited basic medical insurance funds; third, to strengthen the management of medical services. The scope and standards of basic medical services should include the basic medical insurance drug catalog, diagnosis and treatment items, standards for medical service facilities, and their management methods.
 
Traditional medical services (hospitals, pharmacies) mainly reflect "standalone solutions," while mobile medical solutions have greater medical resources and can provide better services for patients. It is expected that the domestic mobile medical market size will increase to 4.2 billion yuan in 2015 and reach 12.5 billion yuan in 2017, with a compound annual growth rate of over 50% from 2013 to 2017.
 
Compared to traditional medical models, mobile medical services have significant advantages both clinically and economically: the emergency and inpatient department visit rates can decrease by 15%-30%, the overall utilization rate of the healthcare system can be reduced by 20%-40%, and the number of readmissions can be halved.
 
Domestic mobile medical services are still in the initial stage, mainly relying on profit models such as advertising, value-added services, and online consultations. In 2013, the market size for peripheral services of mobile medical (health consultation) reached 1.3 billion yuan, while the market size for mobile diagnostic services was only 250 million yuan, and treatment services were only 200 million yuan. The management of chronic diseases is the reason most patients (or doctors) choose mobile medical services, and the market will continue to expand.