Virtual-care providers deliver vital services, drugs during lockdown
Volunteers from WeDoctor are delivering drugs for the treatment of AFib (atrial fibrillation) to patients in Xuhui District.
When the COVID-19 resurgence began sweeping across Shanghai in mid-March, the country's telemedicine platforms raced to roll out better and quicker medication and consultation services.
Shanghai MediTrust Health Technology, an online health-care payment and pharmacy platform, launched a special service on its Yaokangfu or Care2Pay platform, for local residents who have urgent medication needs during lockdown.
Users can order their medicine, including prescription drugs, and medical products for rare diseases for home delivery by replying to key words or phrases like "I want to seek and buy medicine" through the official Yaokangfu WeChat account.
The needs will be dealt with by the company's special team.
MediTrust's Care2Pay includes over 2,000 pharmacies spanning more than 400 cities across China to provide customers easier access to a range of medicines.
MediTrust's Care2Pay platform delivers quick medication services.
A recent example was helping a breast cancer patient from Hunan Province secure her anti-tumor treatment during the city's lockdown.
It took only 18 hours for her to receive the right medicine after her application via MediTrust's innovative platform.
The Shanghai-based firm said it has actively expanded cooperation with designated pharmacies, and coordinated the detailed process of online drug searches and offline delivery with pharmacies.
WeDoctor, a leading digital medical service provider founded in 2010, said it has teamed up with Ruijin Hospital – one of the country's top-ranked hospitals – among others to build an emergency platform to ensure medical supplies for the city.
An emergency platform has been built to ensure vital medical supplies reach the city's residents.
The emergency platform is mobilizing doctors all over the country to give priority to online consultations, follow-up drug purchases, drug distribution and health management services for patients with severe chronic diseases in Shanghai.
The medical health technology firm also opened a free online consultation portal for Shanghai residents and set up a drug supply team of employee volunteers for people with critical chronic conditions.
A WeDoctor volunteer sorts medicines at midnight for next-day delivery.
WeDoctor has now connected over 7,800 hospitals and more than 280,000 doctors across China to its digital health-care platform.
Consultation fees typically range from around US$3 to several dozen dollars, depending on the doctor's qualifications and experience.
