China's medical industry sees digital transformation amid pandemic

A high-tech company displays a mobile lab for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing at the digital achievements exhibition during the fourth Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, east China's Fujian Province, April 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

FUZHOU, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The broad application of big data in China's COVID-19 prevention and control has promoted the speedy digital transformation of the medical industry, according to reports released at the fourth Digital China Summit concluded this week.

The national QR health code, which displays individual COVID-19 test results and travel history data, has been used more than 60 billion times. China's health authorities have also used big data from confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases to track close contacts and allocate medical supplies through digital means, read a report from the Cyberspace Administration of China.

On display in the summit's exhibition hall were a 5G-connected ambulance, which receives specialized remote support in real-time via high-definition video, and an ICU ward, which is equipped with a 360-degree camera transmitting real-time images of patients to doctors. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, similar VR quarantine wards allowed medical experts to conduct face-to-face consultations with patients without direct contact.

According to China's National Health Commission, more than 1,100 internet hospitals have been built nationwide, and 30 provincial-level regions have established supervision platforms for online medical services.

The report also showed that the telemedicine network now covers more than 24,000 medical institutions in all prefecture-level cities in China.