The government of Tongxiang City formally announced yesterday that China's first online hospital was launched in Wuzhen, a city in east China's Zhejiang province. The hospital is in a pilot region for innovative development of the Internet economy.

At its core, the purpose of the program is for Chinese people to have access to online medical services and routine health assessments via the official website or application software of the Wuzhen online hospital.

The Wuzhen online hospital explores possible operation models for hospitals in the future; as the world becomes more deeply connected, it is necessary to find a way to build better relationships among doctors, patients, hospitals and the whole health care industry, said Sheng Yongjun, mayor of Tongxiang.

At this hospital, doctors can give a diagnosis, prescribe medication and share electronic medical records online, making the Wuzhen online hospital the first Internet-based hospital.

The purpose of Wuzhen’s online hospital is to give online diagnoses and offer remote consultation services via the Internet, according to Zhang Qunhua, president of the hospital. With the establishment of Wuzhen’s online hospital, high-quality health care service will be available to people in both remote areas and prosperous cities.

The hospital’s operating team estimates that the hospital will “see” more than ten million patients when it begins service.

The We Doctor Group, one of the co-founders of the hospital, has managed to link the information systems of more than 1,900 key hospitals from 27 provinces, among which the share of top hospitals reaches 70 percent. With this link, the hospital can access 200,000 doctors.