'Private Doctor' service goes online

Shanghai-based Ping An Good Doctor launched its online "Private Doctor" services on Tuesday, offering online health care services for 10 million families as an initial target.

The company, listed on the Hong Kong stock market, has signed up with 29 partners in Shanghai that include China Mobile, BAIC Group, China CITIC Bank, Wyeth Nutrition and China Everbright Bank, with a total contractual value of over 300 million yuan (US$42.9 million).

Private Doctor provides services that include online consultations, day-to-day health management, clinical reservations, 24-hour nursing, medicine deliveries and related insurance services. The pay-for services target middle-class consumers, and mark the company’s change in its business model from free online services to paid membership.

The Internet and innovative health care services mean that every family can have a “private doctor,” said Wang Tao, chairman & CEO of Ping An Good Doctor.

China still has a lack of health care and medical resources, especially in remote regions, and the Internet and new AI technologies may help improve the situation, according to analysts said.

The company posted revenue growth of 102.4 percent year on year to hit 2.27 billion yuan in the first half of 2019. It had 2.23 million monthly paying users, a year-on-year increase of 61.2 percent.