Big data upgrades Guiyang's smart medical treatment services

Guiyang citizens can enjoy remote hierarchical diagnosis and treatment through online video chat. [Photo provided by Guiyang bureau of health]

In recent years, Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, has applied big data to optimize services for residents, especially health services.

In 2015, Guizhou was listed among China's first remote medical treatment pilot areas, and four hospitals in Guiyang started pilot work. In 2016, Guizhou started construction on a remote medical service system, connecting 199 public hospitals above county level.

In 2017, construction of a remote medical service system was included in Guiyang's annual plan for improving people's living standards. Guiyang's bureau of health has established special work teams to establish work plans and evaluation methods to ensure the smooth construction of a remote medical service system.

All the hospitals established management systems and work processes for remote medical services to prevent illegal behavior. In addition, the Guiyang bureau of health trained all medical technicians at basic medical institutions to improve their vocational abilities.

By the end of 2017, all public hospitals at the city, county and township levels in Guiyang were covered by a remote medical service network.

In 2016, Guiyang launched a health information online platform to collect citizens' health records and medical records and offer population and medical services. The platform gives a number of hospitals access to patient data.

The platform also uses big data technology to analyze patients' chronic disease risks. So far, the platform has monitored and collected data on 32,485 hypertensive patients and 12,400 diabetics.

Guiyang's online hospital platform started pilot operations in December of last year, after one year of development. It provides citizens with high-quality online medical services such as appointment registration, health consultations, subsequent visits through video chat, digital prescriptions, online payment, medicine delivery, and intelligent hospital guides.

So far, 11 hospitals, 119 doctors, 61 nurses, and 46 licensed pharmacists have been providing online medical services on the platform. Patients can chat with doctors through voicemail, photos, and videos to eliminate the need to visit the hospital.