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Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research

Date Submitted: Jul 8, 2020
Date Accepted: May 25, 2021

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

Policy Interventions, Development Trends, and Service Innovations of Internet Hospitals in China: Documentary Analysis and Qualitative Interview Study

Lai Y, Chen S, Li M, Ung COL, Hu H

Policy Interventions, Development Trends, and Service Innovations of Internet Hospitals in China: Documentary Analysis and Qualitative Interview Study

J Med Internet Res 2021;23(7):e22330

DOI: 10.2196/22330

PMID: 34283025

PMCID: 8335616

Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.

Investigation on policy intervention, development trend and service innovation of Internet hospitals in China: a combination of documentary analysis and qualitative interview

  • Yunfeng Lai; 
  • Shengqi Chen; 
  • Meng Li; 
  • Carolina Oi Lam Ung; 
  • Hao Hu

ABSTRACT

Background:

Internet hospitals were encouraged by the Chinese government, expecting to develop an innovative medical service model that mainly employed new internet-based technologies to increase access to health care and improve the quality and efficiency of health care delivery. However, academic exploration about the institutional and sectoral development of Internet hospitals in China is scarce in the current literature.

Objective:

This study aimed to investigate the policy intervention, development trend, and service innovation of Internet hospitals in China. It is expected that the findings from this study can contribute to further innovation of Internet hospitals in China and provide references for the international development of Internet hospitals for personalized digital health and patient-centric services.

Methods:

This study analyzed the official policies related to Internet hospitals by the government in China since 2005. The data of the formally approved Internet hospitals were collected from the official websites to analyze the development trend. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 58 key stakeholders representing comprehensive viewpoints about service innovation of Internet hospital between March and November 2019.

Results:

Twenty-five policies that promoted the development of Internet hospitals in China were identified, encompassing informatization infrastructure construction, medical resource integration, development model design, service model design, and payment model design. Out of the 268 Internet hospitals which had received an official license from the government, 153 public Internet hospitals had been built mainly by medical institutions. Public tertiary hospitals were the main actors in founding Internet hospitals which were set to provide services that targeted patients with common diseases or chronic diseases or in remote and rural areas. Promoting convenient access to high-quality medical sources and time-saving for patients and their families were the key values of Internet hospitals.

Conclusions:

The policy interventions strongly promoted the development of Internet hospitals in China. Public tertiary hospitals led the development of Internet hospitals. However, Internet hospitals in China mainly played complementary roles to physical medical institutions. Service model of Internet hospitals needs more distinguished innovation to provide personalized digital health and patient-centric services.


 Citation

Please cite as:

Lai Y, Chen S, Li M, Ung COL, Hu H

Policy Interventions, Development Trends, and Service Innovations of Internet Hospitals in China: Documentary Analysis and Qualitative Interview Study

J Med Internet Res 2021;23(7):e22330

DOI: 10.2196/22330

PMID: 34283025

PMCID: 8335616

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