B U S I N E S S
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Edited by
James E. Ellis and
David RocksChinesecompaniesrolloutsubscriptionappsto
connectpatientsandphysiciansanytimeILLUSTRATIONBYWENKAIMAOBloombergBusinessweek September30, 2019Where the Doctor
Is Always In
Onthesecondfloorofa newofficebuildingin
downtownBeijing, rowsofpeoplewithhead-
phonessitfiveabreast,typingfuriously.Dressedin
jeansandT-shirts,theycouldeasilybemistakenfor
officeclerksorcall-centerworkers—exceptforthe
whitecoatsoverthebacksoftheirchairsandsigns
hangingoverheadthatread:“InternalMedicine,”
“Pediatrics,”“Gynecology,”“Obstetrics.”
InonecornerofthissprawlingofficesitsLiu
Sainan, a 47-year-old neurologist. In March,
after 16 yearsata topBeijinghospital,shejoined
Shanghai-basedPingAnHealthcare& Technology
Co.,whichrunsthePingAnGoodDoctorapp.
Thesedaysshetreatspatientsviaonlinemessaging
throughtheapp,jugglingasmanyas 10 peopleat
once.Patientscanalsosendpicturesofsymptoms,
suchasbruises,ortheirtestresults.
GoodDoctor,whichis backedbythecountry’s
topinsurer,PingAnInsuranceGroupCo.ofChina
Ltd.,starteda yearlysubscriptionserviceinAugust
thatoffersonlinemedicalconsultationswithsenior
doctors.Userspayanannualfeeof 499 yuanto
1,999yuan($70to$280)toconsultspecialistsabout
everythingfromhypertensiontothedigestiveprob-
lemsofnewborns—anytimeandfromanywhere.
ThebusinessisanattempttoremakeChina’s
overstretchedhealth-caresystemfortheinternet
era.Thecountry’stechnologyindustryhasalready
transformedthewayconsumersshop,hailtaxis,
andordertakeoutmeals.Nowcompaniesfrom
GoodDoctortoAlibabatoTencentareattempting
todothesamewithhealthcare.Theirhopeis to
usedigitalservicestoreachpatientsfrustratedwith
a public-healthsystemthat’shavingtroublemeet-
ingdemandfortreatmentduringa nationalepi-
demicofcancer,diabetes,andheartdisease.
OnlinehealthcareinChinais poisedtoexplode
intoa 198billion-yuanbusinessby2026,oralmost
20 timesits 2016 sizeof 11 billion yuan, predicts
researcher Frost & Sullivan. “Everyone in the busi-
ness is exploring, and investors are watching,
to see how internet health-care companies can
make a profit,” says Good Doctor’s chief executiveofficer,WangTao.“We’vefiguredoutclearlythat
familydoctor[service]willbethedriver.”
Wangsayshiscompanyaimstosignup 10 mil-
lionfamiliesinthenextfiveyearsandgenerate
10 billionyuaninannualrevenuefromthem.That’s
threetimesthecompany’s 2018 salesof3.3billion
yuan, most of which came from online sales of
health-care products and supplements. The com-
pany expects to become profitable by 2021.
Across a busy street from Good Doctor’s Beijing
office stands the more than 100-year-old Beijing
Tong Ren Hospital, renowned for its ophthalmol-
ogy and ear, nose, and throat departments. On
a recent weekday, the ground floor of the outpa-
tient building was teeming with people lining up to
get an appointment with specialists. A search on a
kiosk nearby showed that appointments for some
senior doctors required a month’s wait.
“Top hospitals in China are always crowded,
and the experienced doctors there are preoccu-
pied with treating basic diseases, whereas basic-
level hospitals are underused,” says Sharry Wu, a
Shanghai-based partner at Ernst & Young. “While
government is making policies to guide patients to
different tiers of health care, internet companies
can help implement that through telemedicine.”
Still, there are limitations on what a doctor
can do in cyberspace without meeting a patient.
Among other regulations on cybermedicine, China
doesn’tallowdoctorstomakeaninitialdiagnosis
viaanonlineconsultation,insteadpermittingonly
follow-up consultations and prescriptions, which
can be with a different physician. “This is still an
emerging area,” says Leon Qi, regional head of
Asian financials research at Daiwa Capital Markets
HongKongLtd.
Chinahasanacuteneedfornewhealth-care
models.It addsalmost 4 millioncancerpatients
eachyear.It alsohad 114 milliondiabetespatients
in 2017 and 290 million sufferers of heart disease
last year—all among the world’s highest numbers.
People cram into large public hospitals—which
usually have the best doctors—for everything