In quest of the next big capital injection

[Image/China Daily]

"We plan to set up three clinics in Hangzhou this year, with the first one set to open later this month." DXY will build and operate the clinics on its own for "quality and cost control". Though the expansion process is slow, Li said, it is necessary to establish the brand first.

Chunyu Doctor, is another online platform that is actively setting up a chain of offline clinics. Founded by Beijing Spring Rain Software Co in 2011, Chunyu Doctor is a leading online platform that connects doctors and patients. It has a network of physicians from public hospitals who can provide medical consultancy services at multiple sites.

"We have already set up Chunyu clinics in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Wuhan, and the number of clinics have increased from 25 to 100 or so. We aim to have 300 clinics by the end of this year," said Wan Jing, the chief brand and content executive of Chunyu Doctor.

Chunyu clinics cooperate with hospitals holding healthcare certificates, and doctors from top hospitals with deputy director or above level will serve the patients.

Wan said that the online platform is capable of solving 70 percent of the patient problems, while the balance 30 percent cases need to be handled offline and transferred to Chunyu clinics.

"Online consultation services often solve simple health problem and mild illness, but the offline consultancy services will deal with complicated diseases. Besides, we will provide expert consultation and overseas medical services," Wan said.

Liu Jiehao, an analyst from iiMedia Research said unlike other mobile medical platforms, Chunyu Doctor is miles ahead of its peers in services and medical resources.

"Ultimately it will be someone who can close the service loop, or in other words connect online and offline resources, who will gain an upper hand in the competition."