Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) passed the audit from the Beijing Municipal Health Commission on March 15 and became the first approved Internet hospital in Beijing. This act allows patients across the country to efficiently seek help from doctors at PUMCH.

The Internet hospital is a one-stop service platform that integrates consultation, prescription, payment and drug delivery with online follow-up and regular consultation. With the help from government, it took only one year for PUMCH to transform from online consultation, to online medical treatment, to Internet hospital.

Currently, PUMCH Internet Hospital has 30 departments online, and 1,219 doctors have access to online service. One-third of the consultation rooms have been equipped with online treatment equipment, while wards and doctors' offices are also being equipped according to demand. On average, more than 300 patients are treated online every day, and more than 30,000 patients have been treated online, and there is an obvious increase in patients actively choosing the online consultation mode. Some departments have received up to 80% of non-local patients via online service.

The average time spent by doctors participating in online clinic is longer compared to offline outpatient clinic, while the fees are charged according to the standard of general outpatient treatment. Internet hospital does not only "allow patients to travel less", but also facilitates in-hospital hierarchical system treatment. Most of the physicians conducting the online clinic are young attending doctors, and the offline outpatient clinic is mainly conducted by senior professors. Offline resources are reserved for patients with difficult and serious diseases, and the new model of online consultation for regular patients is also one of the attempts to optimize the allocation of medical resources. The goal of future Internet Hospital is that patients will log into the PUMCH APP before hospital visit and practice self-diagnosis based on the scientific knowledge provided, followed by initial triage by young doctors to match the appropriate treatment models and corresponding doctors. As a result, effectively obtain access to the right specialist and the appropriate medical services.

PUMCH is currently exploring more "On the Cloud" models, such as 5G remote surgery and artificial intelligence-assisted ultrasound diagnosis. It is a constant pursuit for PUMCH to utilize smart and precise medical models to benefit and to improve patients' medical experience in a practical way.

Reporter: Wang Lu

Translator: Yu Zhongxun

Editor: Yang Yilan