Mobile healthcare promising in China: report

Widespread adoption of mobile technology in healthcare in China is now viewed as inevitable by 80 percent of doctors and healthcare payers, including government officials, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, said a report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The report said that Chinese consumers have high expectations for mobile healthcare services as mobile phone subscriptions in the country have reached 900 million, the largest mobile user base in the world.

In addition, China is in the process of upgrading its healthcare system through policy reforms and massive government investment in access, quality, and efficiency.

"These two colliding forces will create fertile ground for growing mobile healthcare businesses that hope to target the diverse needs of the Chinese people," said James Xiao, senior manager of PwC China's pharmaceutical and life sciences department.

The company conducted a survey in March, which covered 103 patients, 76 physicians, 45 payers and 20 medical experts in China.

"Our survey indicates that 54 percent of consumers in China believe that this service will improve the way they manage their overall health. In addition, 45 percent of consumers hope to use it as a way to make access to doctors more convenient and more effective and 36 percent believe that mobile healthcare will also reduce costs."

The report said that the most desired mobile healthcare solutions are in the areas of integrating real-time medical information from patients into their existing medical records, allowing transparency between doctors and patients.

Chinese doctors expect mobile healthcare to improve both their interactions with hospitals as well as with patients.

liujie@chinadaily.com.cn