Huashan Hospital strikes up digital partnership

Shanghai-based Huashan Hospital has announced that it established a medical alliance with Wuzhen Internet Hospital to expand the coverage of medical services in remote areas of the country.

Huashan Hospital, one of the top medical institutes in China, has in recent years been working to develop medical services in remote regions, and this partnership represents a new step in its efforts to do so, said hospital officials.

Under the alliance, Huashan Hospital will provide medical consultation and other services through an online platform as well as assistance to hospitals located in middle and western parts of China if needed.

"By using Internet technology, Huashan Hospital hopes to promote its advantages, such as academic strengths, talents and medical skills to more basic medical institutes and organizations. Such an innovative Internet medical alliance model is expected to benefit more patients, doctors and medical centers in remote areas," said Ma Xin, vice president of the hospital.

Wuzhen Internet Hospital, the first of its kind in China, was established in December 2015. It is located in the famous water town where the annual World Internet Conference takes place.

The internet hospital connects doctors and patients from all over the country through its website Guahao.com and a mobile app We Doctor. After talking with doctors through the online platform, an electronic medical record will be saved in the online system.

The patient can then select a medical treatment and pay his or her bills online.

The Chinese government is currently actively promoting the development of this medical alliance across the country. Alliances consist of a number of small and big hospitals, allowing the lower level ones to benefit from the support of their larger counterparts.

The alliance also allows medical resources and doctors to flow freely rather than be confined to one location, in turn benefitting more patients.

"The Internet will play a very important role in promoting the development of the medical alliance. The establishment of the Internet medical alliance will help improve medical skills of doctors in less developed areas," said Zhang Qunhua, COO of Guahao.com, who is also the president of Wuzhen Internet Hospital.