Internet Hospital Research Articles

COVID-19 and Internet Hospital Development in China.

Since 2018, the access policy for Internet hospitals has been issued in China. So far, thousands of Internet hospitals have been approved to operate and have played a significant role during the COVID-19 pandemic. While front-line hospitals strive to treat patients, Internet hospitals take the responsibility to guide patients to seek appropriate medical treatment and meet the urgent needs of chronic patients through online medical follow-up, payment, and drug distribution. This paper is based on Internet medical policies and interviews with doctors working with Internet hospitals, aiming to study the development of Internet hospitals in China through the management of the COVID-19 outbreak and the Chinese healthcare strategy on the national level.

Experiences and Challenges of Emerging Online Health Services Combating COVID-19 in China: Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Study of Internet Hospitals.

BackgroundInternet-based online virtual health services were originally an important way for the Chinese government to resolve unmet medical service needs due to inadequate medical institutions. Its initial development was not well received. Then, the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic produced a tremendous demand for telehealth in a short time, which stimulated the explosive development of internet hospitals. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (SAHZU) has taken a leading role in the construction of internet hospitals in China. The pandemic triggered the hospital to develop unique research on health service capacity under strict quarantine policies and to predict long-term trends.ObjectiveThis study aims to provide policy enlightenment for the construction of internet-based health services to better fight against COVID-19 and to elucidate future directions through an in-depth analysis of 2 years of online health service data gleaned from SAHZU’s experiences and lessons learned.MethodsWe collected data from SAHZU Internet Hospital from November 1, 2019, to September 16, 2021. Data from over 900,000 users were analyzed with respect to demographic characteristics, demands placed on departments by user needs, new registrations, and consultation behaviors. Interrupted time series (ITS) analysis was adopted to evaluate the impact of this momentous emergency event and its long-term trends. With theme analysis and a defined 2D model, 3 investigations were conducted synchronously to determine users’ authentic demands on online hospitals.ResultsThe general profile of internet hospital users is young or middle-aged women who live in Zhejiang and surrounding provinces. The ITS model indicated that, after the intervention (the strict quarantine policies) was implemented during the outbreak, the number of internet hospital users significantly increased (β_2=105.736, P<.001). Further, long-term waves of COVID-19 led to an increasing number of users following the outbreak (β_3=0.167, P<.001). In theme analysis, we summarized 8 major demands by users of the SAHZU internet hospital during the national shutdown period and afterwards. Online consultations and information services were persistent and universal demands, followed by concerns about medical safety and quality, time, and cost. Users’ medical behavior patterns changed from onsite to online as internet hospital demands increased.ConclusionsThe pandemic has spawned the explosive growth of telehealth; as a public tertiary internet hospital, the SAHZU internet hospital is partially and irreversibly integrated into the traditional medical system. As we shared the practical examples of 1 public internet hospital in China, we put forward suggestions about the future direction of telehealth. Vital experience in the construction of internet hospitals was provided in the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control, which can be demonstrated as a model of internet hospital management practice for other medical institutions.

The social effects and potential value of combination of Chinese herbal medicine with internet hospitals during the COVID-19 epidemic

Background and objective: The diagnosis and treatment of other common and chronic diseases under circumstances of COVID-19 epidemic is very serious. This study aimed to summarize and assess the social effects and potential value of combination of Internet hospital with Chinese herbs on the patients suffering from common and chronic diseases. Methods: We collected and evaluated daily data including manner seeing a doctor online, ages, gender, pattern of payment, and way getting the medicine. In addition, number of diseases diagnosed, areas of Chinese herbs delivered, and composition and quantity of these drugs were also computed. Results: Physicians in Internet hospital provided online medical services to 1888 visitors daily through image-text consultation and video interrogation. The diseases included insomnia, distention and fullness, emmeniopathy. The Chinese herbs prescribed were delivered by SF-Express to Guangdong and outside, especially in Shenzhen. The prescriptions were up to 599. Six kinds of scented teas comprised by Chinese herbs were produced and extensively sold in and around Shenzhen through this Internet platform. Conclusions: The combination of Internet hospital with TCM is very promising, contributing to control of COVID-19 epidemic and producing new industries which drive economic recovery. Keywords: COVID-19; internet hospital; traditional chinese medicine; chronic diseases; epidemic.

Family caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic: factors associated with anxiety and depression of carers for community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupts the daily routine and increases the caregiving load of the family carers of older adults. This study examined how the pandemic may impact mental health and investigated the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in family carers of older people.MethodsTwo hundred and thirty-six family carers of older adults participated in this cross-sectional survey study. Outcome measures included their symptoms of anxiety and depression, pandemic-related psychosocial factors, external factors, and the practice of preventive behaviours.ResultsCaseness prevalence of anxiety and depression among family carers was 25 and 56% respectively. Working carers were more depressed than non-working, while younger carers reported more anxiety and depression symptoms than older. Hand hygiene and getting drugs from the hospital positively predicted depression while healthy lifestyle negatively predicted depression. These variables, together with perceived risk and severity and the worry of getting infected, predicted anxiety.ConclusionsThe prevalence of mental health symptoms was alarming. Telemedicine practice, including online pharmaceutical services and the Internet Hospital plus Drug Delivery platform, could be a solution in alleviating the burden and worry of infection of family carers. Tailored-made interventions by age and working status of the family carers are recommended.

Current Status of the Health Information Technology Industry in China from the China Hospital Information Network Conference: Cross-sectional Study of Participating Companies.

BackgroundThe China Hospital Information Network Conference (CHINC) is one of the most influential academic and technical exchange activities in medical informatics and medical informatization in China. It collects frontier ideas in medical information and has an important reference value for the analysis of China's medical information industry development.ObjectiveThis study summarizes the current situation and future development of China's medical information industry and provides a future reference for China and abroad in the future by analyzing the characteristics of CHINC exhibitors in 2021.MethodsThe list of enterprises and participating keywords were obtained from the official website of CHINC. Basic characteristics of the enterprises, industrial fields, applied technologies, company concepts, and other information were collected from the TianYanCha website and the VBDATA company library. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the collected data, and we summarized the future development directions.ResultsA total of 205 enterprises officially participated in the exhibition. Most of the enterprises were newly founded, of which 61.9% (127/205) were founded in the past 10 years. The majority of these enterprises were from first-tier cities, and 79.02% (162/205) were from Beijing, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shanghai, and Jiangsu Provinces. The median registered capital is 16.67 million RMB (about US $2.61 million), and there are 35 (72.2%) enterprises with a registered capital of more than 100 million RMB (about US $15.68 million), 17 (8.3%) of which are already listed. A total of 126 enterprises were found in the VBDATA company library, of which 39 (30.9%) are information technology vendors and 57 (45.2%) are application technology vendors. In addition, 16 of the 57 (28%) use artificial intelligence technology. Smart medicine and internet hospitals were the focus of the enterprises participating in this conference.ConclusionsChina's tertiary hospital informatization has basically completed the construction of the primary stage. The average grade of hospital electronic medical records exceeds grade 3, and 78.13% of the provinces have reached grade 3 or above. The characteristics are as follows: On the one hand, China's medical information industry is focusing on the construction of smart hospitals, including intelligent systems supporting doctors' scientific research, diagnosis-related group intelligent operation systems, and office automation systems supporting hospital management, single-disease clinical decision support systems assisting doctors' clinical care, and intelligent internet of things for logistics. On the other hand, the construction of a compact county medical community is becoming a new focus of enterprises under the guidance of practical needs and national policies to improve the quality of grassroots health services. In addition, whole-course management and digital therapy will also become a new hotspot in the future.

Jordanian experience: The internet pharmacy drug delivery platform during the COVID-19

The present study aimed to see how well the newly designed internet hospital drug delivery platform model worked in the pharmacy department during the COVID-19 pandemic to make it easier for patients to get their prescribed drugs during the home quarantine.Methods: The internet hospital drug delivery platform was designed and activated by the pharmacy department in collaboration with the information technology department.The pharmacy department, in partnership with the information technology department, built and launched the internet hospital drug delivery platform (IHDD) immediately after the Jordanian government declared a full lockdown.Results: During the quarantine, a total of 5994 prescriptions, including 28494 medications, were delivered to 4853 patients. The majority of the patients (n = 1835; 37.8%) were aged 60 to 74.Nearly three quarters (4722; 78.8%) of the patients were from Amman, the capital of Jordan, and the top five online prescription departments were cardiology (n = 1737, 31.6%), endocrinology (n = 624, 11.4%), nephrology (n = 557, 10.1%), respiratory (n = 462, 8.4%), and neurology (n = 412, 7.5%).Conclusion: The IHDD platform was found to be efficient and convenient because it handled the challenge of precisely delivering medications to patients on time. To meet the pandemic's challenge, the pharmacy department has extended its inventive powers. In addition to safeguarding the environment, health technology was used to provide a coordinated, systematic program for the administration of medications.The pharmacy department, in partnership with the information technology department, built and deployed the internet hospital drug distribution infrastructure shortly after Jordan's government proclaimed a full lockdown.During the quarantine, a total of 5994 prescriptions, including 28494 medications, were delivered to 4853 patients. The majority of the patients (n = 1835; 37.8%) were between the ages of 60 and 74.Nearly three quarters (4722; 78.8%) of the patients were from Amman, the capital of Jordan, and the top five online prescription departments were cardiology (n = 1737, 31.6%), endocrinology (n = 624, 11.4%), nephrology (n = 557, 10.1%), respiratory (n = 462, 8.4%), and urology (n = 412, 7.5%).The pharmacy department has expanded its capabilities creatively to face the challenge posed by the pandemic. Health technology was utilized to ensure a coordinated, systematic program for the delivery of medications, in addition to preserving the safety of the dedicated staff.

Evaluation of Online Andrology Medical Services in Central Regions of China During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Data Analysis Study.

To provide an overview of the current situation, challenges, and trends in online medical services from the perspective of andrology and promote the development of online medical services. Users of the Learning Alliance of Urology, who mainly worked in central regions of China, were invited to complete the questionnaire that included information on the participants and their institutions and their involvement in and concerns for online medical services. We received 875 complete responses. The percentage of online andrology patients at most institutions was less than 30%. The most common services were online appointment registration (92.7%) and online payment (81.8%). Online chat consultation (77.7%) was the most common form of consultation. Only 1 in 5 of the institutions had constructed their Internet hospital. Factors related to the percentage of online andrology patients included specialized andrology clinics and wards, sufficient time for doctors to provide online services, more diversified services, and online clinic training. The biggest challenge for online medical services was diagnosis and treatment safety. It is essential to raise awareness of online medical services for hospitals and patients and strengthen standardized management and training of online medical services, especially applicable to central regions of China. However, online medical services cannot wholly replace offline services due to insufficient diagnosis and treatment.

The Effect of Using Internet Hospitals on the Physician-Patient Relationship: Patient Perspective

The Effect of Using Internet Hospitals on the Physician-Patient Relationship: Patient Perspective

Legal Considerations on the Current Situation of Online Prescription Drug Sales

Online drug sales are booming nowadays, and online sales of some prescription drugs are no longer prohibited by law, following over-the-counter ones. Because of its particularity, prescription drugs must be used according to doctor’s prescription to ensure their safety.In order to explore the illegal aspects in the current online prescription drug sales, the authors took three cases as the perspective and found out the following problems: Firstly, some online doctors do not hold valid certificates of medical practice; Secondly, doctors carry out first-diagnosis activities in violation of Internet Diagnosis and Treatment Management Measures; Thirdly, doctors do not follow the technical operation specifications, resulting in the diagnosis and treatment services are not compliant; Fourthly, doctors prescribe prescriptions in violation of the Prescription Management Measures. In addition, after the emergence of medical disputes, the responsibilities among online platforms, Internet hospitals and the physical medical institutions relied on are not clear, which is very detrimental to the rights protection of patients. The above problems seriously deviate from the safety principles that prescription drugs should follow. To study the current illegality of the current online prescription drug sales process, the author take the form of cases to carry out legal analysis. Furthermore, the authors hope that this analysis can attract the attention of the medicine, law, business and competent departments, so as to protect the basic human health rights of drug users right.

The Construction and Operational Models of Internet Hospitals in China: A Hospital-Based Survey Study

The Construction and Operational Models of Internet Hospitals in China: A Hospital-Based Survey Study

중국 인터넷의료의 발전과정과 법적문제

This paper aims to provide useful implications for Korea’s introduction of telemedicine services by studying the development process and legal issues of internet healthcare in China, which is currently rapidly growing. China is promoting the development of internet healthcare based on the ‘Internet+healthcare’ policy in 2015. Since 2018, a number of administrative rules have been enacted to manage internet healthcare services. However, there exist conflicts with the current laws in the restriction of doctors’ business locations, and recognizing internet hospitals and healthcare platforms as medical institutions. For the further development of internet healthcare, the Chinese government needs to solve these legal issues.

Running an Internet Hospital in China: Perspective Based on a Case Study.

Internet hospitals, as a new forum for doctors to conduct diagnosis and treatment activities based on the internet, are emerging in China and have become integral to the development of the medical field in conjunction with increasing reforms and policies in China’s medical and health system. Here, we take the Internet Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University (FAHZU Internet Hospital) as an example to discuss the operations and functional positioning of developing internet hospital medical services in relation to physical hospitals. This viewpoint considers the platform operation, management, and network security of FAHZU Internet Hospital, and summarizes the advantages and limitations in the operation to provide a reference for other areas with interest in developing internet hospitals.

Chinese Patients' Intention to Use Different Types of Internet Hospitals: Cross-sectional Study on Virtual Visits.

BackgroundThe issuing of regulation schemes and the expanding health insurance coverage for virtual visits of internet hospitals would incentivize Chinese providers and patients to use virtual visits tremendously. China’s internet hospitals vary in sponsorship. However, little is known about patients’ intention to use virtual visits delivered by different sponsorship types of internet hospitals.ObjectiveThe goal of the research is to examine patients’ intention to use virtual visits, as well as virtual visits delivered by different sponsorship types of internet hospitals. In addition, we will identify determinants of patients’ intention to use virtual visits, as well as intention to use virtual visits delivered by different sponsorship types of internet hospitals.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 1653 participants was conducted in 3-tier hospitals in 3 cities with different income levels in May and June 2019. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors that affect patients’ intention to use virtual visits. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the determinants of the intention to use virtual visits delivered by different sponsorship types of internet hospitals (ie, enterprise-sponsored, hospital-sponsored, and government-sponsored).ResultsA total of 76.64% (1145/1494) of adult participants were online medical information seekers, and 87.06% (969/1113) of online medical information seekers had intention to use virtual visits. Public hospital–sponsored internet hospitals were the most prevalent ones among Chinese patients (473/894, 52.9%), followed by the provincial government internet hospital platform (238/894, 26.6%), digital health companies (116/894, 13.0%), medical e-commerce companies (48/894, 5.4%), private hospitals (13/894, 1.5%), and other companies (6/894, 0.7%). Gender, education, monthly income, and consumer type were significantly associated with the intention to use virtual visits. Gender, age, education, city income level, consumer type, and trust in the sponsor of a health website were significantly associated with the patient’s intention to use virtual visits delivered by 3 different sponsorship types of internet hospitals.ConclusionsChinese patients who were online medical information seekers had high intention to use virtual visits and had different intentions to use virtual visits delivered by different sponsorship types of internet hospitals. Public hospitals, the government, and digital health companies were the top 3 sponsorship types of internet hospitals that patients had intention to use. Trust in a health website sponsor significantly influenced the patient’s intention to use virtual visits delivered by different sponsorship types of internet hospitals. Gender, education, and consumer type were the factors significantly associated with both the intention to use virtual visits and the intention to use virtual visits delivered by different sponsorship types of internet hospitals.

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

BackgroundInternet hospitals have been encouraged by the Chinese government to develop an innovative medical service model that mainly uses new internet-based technologies to increase access to health care and improve the quality and efficiency of health care delivery. However, the academic exploration of the institutional and sectoral development of internet hospitals in China is scarce in the existing literature.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the policy interventions, development trends, and service innovations of internet hospitals in China. It is expected that the findings from this study will contribute to the 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.MethodsThis study analyzed official policies related to internet hospitals that were implemented by the government in China since 2005. The data of formally approved internet hospitals were collected from official websites to analyze development trends. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 58 key stakeholders who represented comprehensive viewpoints about the service innovations of internet hospitals between March and November 2019.ResultsIn total, 25 policies that promoted the development of internet hospitals in China were identified. These policies encompassed informatization infrastructure construction, medical resource integration, development model design, service model design, and payment model design. Of the 268 internet hospitals that 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 that were created to provide services that targeted patients with common diseases or chronic diseases or patients living in remote and rural areas. Promoting convenient access to high-quality medical resources and saving patients’ and their families’ time were the key values of internet hospitals.ConclusionsThe 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 have mainly played roles that are complementary to those of physical medical institutions. The service model of internet hospitals needs more distinguished innovations to provide personalized digital health and patient-centric services.

Digital Health Solutions During COVID-19 in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Current Evidence

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for scaling up digital health solutions such as telemedicine, mobile health (mHealth), artificial intelligence (AI), and social media in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The application and acceptability of digital health solutions in LMICs could differ from the contexts of high-income countries. Thus, this study aimed to review various digital health solutions implemented in LMICs during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: This systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines and is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021231836). Searches were performed on PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and SCOPUS for research articles published between January 1, 2020 and March 17, 2021. The inclusion criteria comprised people residing in LMICs, digital health solutions that could improve the overall health and wellbeing, user experiences, and acceptability. RCTs, quasi-experimental studies, and cohort study designs were included. The risk of bias assessments for randomized studies and non-randomized intervention studies were performed.Findings: Of the 2200 studies retrieved from search, 1912 studies were screened after removal of duplicates. Of the 270 full texts assessed for eligibility, six studies were included in the narrative synthesis. The studies were from Zimbabwe, China, and Turkey. Two studies were RCTs, one was cohort, and three were non-randomized intervention studies. Three studies focused on telemedicine and three on social media. All studies indicated positive results with the intervention. However, each study employed different digital health technology and measured different outcomes, and, thus, meta-analysis was not possible.Interpretation: Digital health interventions can be an effective way to improve health and provide health consultations during the pandemic. However, the available evidence from this review cannot determine the effectiveness of digital health solutions in LMICs. Remote consultations with the aid of social media, teleconsultation, and internet hospitals are the future of healthcare. Therefore, well-designed intervention studies in digital health are necessary.Funding Statement: None.Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interests.

Characteristics of Online Health Care Services From China's Largest Online Medical Platform: Cross-sectional Survey Study.

BackgroundInternet hospitals in China are in great demand due to limited and unevenly distributed health care resources, lack of family doctors, increased burdens of chronic diseases, and rapid growth of the aged population. The COVID-19 epidemic catalyzed the expansion of online health care services. In recent years, internet hospitals have been rapidly developed. Ping An Good Doctor is the largest, national online medical entry point in China and is a widely used platform providing online health care services.ObjectiveThis study aims to give a comprehensive description of the characteristics of the online consultations and inquisitions in Ping An Good Doctor. The analyses tried to answer the following questions: (1) What are the characteristics of the consultations in Ping An Good Doctor in terms of department and disease profiles? (2) Who uses the online health services most frequently? and (3) How is the user experience of the online consultations of Ping An Good Doctor?MethodsA total of 35.3 million consultations and inquisitions over the course of 1 year were analyzed with respect to the distributions of departments and diseases, user profiles, and consulting behaviors.ResultsThe geographical distribution of the usage of Ping An Good Doctor showed that Shandong (18.4%), Yunnan (15.6%), Shaanxi (7.2%), and Guangdong (5.5%) were the provinces that used it the most; they accounted for 46.6% of the total consultations and inquisitions. In terms of department distribution, we found that gynecology and obstetrics (19.2%), dermatology (17.0%), and pediatrics (14.4%) were the top three departments in Ping An Good Doctor. The disease distribution analysis showed that, except for nondisease-specific consultations, acute upper respiratory infection (AURI) (4.1%), pregnancy (2.8%), and dermatitis (2.4%) were the most frequently consulted diseases. In terms of user profiles, females (60.4%) from 19 to 35 years of age were most likely to seek consultations online, in general. The user behavior analyses showed that the peak times of day for online consultations occurred at 10 AM, 3 PM, and 9 PM. Regarding user experience, 93.0% of users gave full marks following their consultations. For some disease-related health problems, such as AURI, dermatitis, and eczema, the feedback scores were above average.ConclusionsThe prevalence of internet hospitals, such as Ping An Good Doctor, illustrated the great demand for online health care services that can go beyond geographical limitations. Our analyses showed that nondisease-specific issues and moderate health problems were much more frequently consulted about than severe clinical conditions. This indicated that internet hospitals played the role of the family doctor, which helped to relieve the stress placed on offline hospitals and facilitated people’s lives. In addition, good user experiences, especially regarding disease-related inquisitions, suggested that online health services can help solve health problems. With support from the government and acceptance by the public, online health care services could develop at a fast pace and greatly benefit people’s daily lives.

Exploration of Internet Hospital Information System Based on Information Integration Platform

During the construction of the hospital information system, because the medical and health information itself is relatively complex, coupled with the large differences in the business needs of different departments of the hospital, the application of the information system will become more complicated. The increasing demand for information in hospitals and the increasing number of subsystems have had a certain impact on improving the level of information construction in hospitals. Therefore, China needs to strengthen the integrated management of hospital data and information. The use of information system integration platforms to build mobile Internet hospitals can promote the modern development of Chinese hospitals. In the application process of the hospital information system integration platform, relevant staff need to research and analyze the application of the information system integration platform. At the same time, relevant researchers need to explore the actual content of the Internet hospital construction process, improve the level of Internet hospital construction, and promote the long-term development of Chinese hospitals.

Assessment of Internet Hospitals in China During the COVID-19 Pandemic: National Cross-Sectional Data Analysis Study.

BackgroundInternet hospitals in China are being rapidly developed as an innovative approach to providing health services. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the development of internet hospitals that promote outpatient service delivery to the public via internet technologies. To date, no studies have assessed China's internet hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.ObjectiveThis study aimed to elucidate the characteristics of China's internet hospitals and assess the health service capacity of these hospitals.MethodsData on 711 internet hospitals were collected from official websites, the WeChat (Tencent Inc) platform, smartphone apps, and the Baidu search engine until July 16, 2020.ResultsAs of July 16, 2020, 711 internet hospitals were developed in mainland China. More than half of these internet hospitals (421/711, 59.2%) were established during 2019 (206/711, 29%) and 2020 (215/711, 30.2%). Furthermore, about one-third (215/711, 30.2%) of internet hospitals were established at the beginning of 2020 as an emergency response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The 711 internet hospitals consisted of the following 3 types of hospitals: government-oriented (42/711, 5.91%), hospital-oriented (143/711, 20.11%), and enterprise-oriented internet hospitals (526/711, 73.98%). The vast majority of internet hospitals were traditional hospitals (526/711, 74%). Nearly 46.1% (221/711) of internet hospitals requested doctors to provide health services at a specific web clinic. Most patients (224/639, 35.1%) accessed outpatient services via WeChat. Internet hospitals’ consulting methods included SMS text messaging consultations involving the use of graphics (552/570, 96.8%), video consultations (248/570, 43.5%), and telephone consultations (238/570, 41.8%). The median number of available web-based doctors was 43, and the median consultation fees of fever clinics and other outpatient clinics were ¥0 (US $0) per consultation and ¥6 (US $0.93) per consultation, respectively. Internet hospitals have provided various services during the COVID-19 pandemic, including medical prescription, drug delivery, and medical insurance services.ConclusionsThe dramatic increase of internet hospitals in China has played an important role in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Internet hospitals provide different and convenient medical services for people in need.

The Construction and Practice of Internet Hospital in Hospital J

Background With the increasing demand for diversified health of the public and the increasingly mature technology of "Internet + medical treatment", the online business of hospitals continues to extend and expand. Under this background, Internet hospitals have witnessed rapid development in China in recent years. Objective In order to provide better patient services and improve the accessibility of quality medical services, Hospital J created Internet hospital to provide online diagnosis and treatment services. Methods Relying on Internet technology, Hospital J built hospital Internet online medical services, such as online registration, real-time consultation, message consultation, revisit prescription, drug distribution, pharmacist online, nursing consultation, appointment nurse home care and other services, supported by the offline hospital medical resources. Results Internet hospitals can help save the cost and time of patients' medical treatment, optimize the process of patients' medical treatment, avoid delay of illness and cross-infection, effectively alleviate the difficulty of patients' medical treatment, and improve the quality and level of hospital services. Conclusion In practice, Hospital J has explored a way to develop an Internet hospital in line with the characteristics of the hospital. Fundamentally, the development of Internet + medical treatment is fundamentally a change in the mode of doctor-patient service. With the advantages of convenience, efficiency and timeliness, it has become the trend of The Times. It is of positive practical significance to research on and solve the problems with the Internet hospital.

PP290 Exploratory Investigation On Innovative Business Models Of Internet Hospitals In China: A Focus Group Study Of Key Stakeholders

IntroductionUnder the national guidance of Internet Plus Healthcare, Internet hospital was officially recognized in 2018 by the Chinese government, however, how to innovate the business models of Internet hospitals remains controversial. This study sought to explore key stakeholders’ perspectives on key dilemmas about innovative business models of Internet hospitals in China.MethodsA focus group study of key stakeholders was performed. Twelve key stakeholders (six senior officials from related ministries, two industry practitioners of Internet medicine, one hospital leader, two healthcare researchers (financing and policy), and one venture capital manager) participated in the focus group, in 2019. Thematic content analysis was applied for data analysis.ResultsThemes highlighted six key dilemmas when developing a business model of Internet hospitals, including (i) value proposition (medical treatment versus entire health management); (ii) leading party (hospitals versus third parties such as Internet companies); (iii) level of healthcare (tertiary versus primary); (iv) scope of service (provide full range versus part of traditional hospital service); (v) primary source of revenue (medical services versus drug sales); and (vi) legal liability (web-based unit versus physical hospital).ConclusionsThe healthcare industry is currently in search of innovative business models of Internet hospitals in response to the unprecedented form of healthcare in China. However, the core aspects of the model design still remain debatable. At this revolutionary stage, policies are important to allow the implementation of different model designs that support the successful transformation of the entire health care system in China.