In the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, an ambulance speeds through traffic on a wave of green lights, helped along by an artificial intelligence (AI) system and big data. The system, which involves sending information to a centralized computer linked to the city’s transport networks, is part of a trial by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The Chinese tech giant is hoping to use its cloud and data systems to tackle issues hobbling China’s healthcare system like snarled city traffic, long patient queues and a lack of doctors.
According to the report published by Channel News Asia, Alibaba ‘s push into healthcare reflects a wider trend in China, where technology firms are racing to shake up a creaking state-run health sector and take a slice of spending that will hit US$1 trillion by 2020.
Tencent-backed WeDoctor, which offers online consultations and doctor appointments, raised US$500 million in May at a valuation of US $5.5 billion. Ping An Good Doctor, a similar platform backed by Ping An Insurance, raised US $1.1 billion in an IPO this year. “The opportunity is growing very fast,” said Min Wanli, the Hangzhou-based chief machine intelligence scientist at Alibaba’s cloud division.
Alibaba is working with a hospital in Shanghai using data to predict patient demand and allocate doctors. In Zhejiang province, the company is working on AI-assisted diagnosis tools to help analyze medical images such as CT scans and MRIs.
Chinese hospitals are increasingly using technology to bridge the gap between urban centers and remote parts of the country where doctors are in short supply. Using document-sharing systems and livestreaming video, specialists can direct more junior medical staff on-site doing patient diagnoses.
DXY, one of China’s biggest online networks of doctors, offers consultations on the WeChat social media platform for patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, with a team of nurses and doctors providing medical advice.
China is pressing to reduce healthcare costs that are soaring as the population ages, putting huge strains on the state insurance system. China’s healthcare system has long grappled with a shortage of doctors, exacerbated by low wages and a dearth of local clinics and general practitioners. That means patients often crowd into large, specialist hospitals for even minor ailments.
Beijing has enacted legislation over the last two years that has included strong support for internet-based basic healthcare services. Now, Beijing may be about approve the sale of some prescription drugs online, creating a major opportunity for local and global firms, according to companies in the sector.
Janssens of Merck KGaA said the company had “good indications” that policymakers were addressing the issue of pharmaceutical e-commerce “as we speak”.
In the United States, technology firms like Amazon, Google and Apple have made pushes into healthcare, with mixed results, often finding sprawling medical markets tougher to crack than entertainment or media. Technology firms in China also face major obstacles.
One is convincing patients to see doctors online or getting hospitals to spend extra money on high-tech tools that promise efficiency boosts or improvements for patients. And regulators still have concerns about drug sales online.
Wang Aihu, a cardiologist at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, said medical centers were increasingly using online appointment and payment systems, and that he conducted internet consultations for patients in remote regions. He added that his hospital may eventually have “AI-powered medical imaging systems or robot doctors”, but these could not replace medical staff.
That hasn’t stopped one hospital in Beijing doing a “man vs machine” standoff this month to detect neurological disorders including brain tumors. A robot developed by the prestigious Tsinghua University and iFlytek, a local firm, has also taken and passed China’s medical exam for doctors.