Measures counter impact of pandemic

Products already certified as meeting foreign standards that are higher than domestic standards will be able to be sold directly in the domestic market after their producers provide a written pledge on standard compliance. The registration of foreign trading businesses will also be delegated to prefecture-level cities.

A key focus of the guideline is to promote the development of health services, especially those provided online. To expand the supply of medical services, the government will consider allowing suitably qualified businesses and individuals to open clinics and practice medicine after filing credentials.

Providers of online health services will be allowed to expand areas of diagnosis and treatment, with eligible services to be covered by government health insurance, the guideline said, adding that the government will come up with a unified approval standard for the opening of online health service businesses.

Wang Hang, founder and CEO of Haodf.com, one of the largest online healthcare companies in China, said the guideline will give the sector a significant boost.

The importance of the online healthcare sector was highlighted during the peak of the pandemic in China as it helped alleviate the pressure on brick-and-mortar hospitals.

The company's online platform received 6.72 million orders for medical diagnoses from patients from Jan 20 to April 12, when the pandemic was at its most severe and travel restrictions were in place, with daily demand for services up more than sixfold from December.

However, Wang said, a pressing challenge for third-party online healthcare providers was that they had not been listed as designated institutions in the health insurance system.

"A prerequisite for internet healthcare to be included in public health insurance is that the platforms must provide high-quality services at a good price," he said. "It (the guideline) will spur us to provide better services at lower cost."