China's online health services expand amid COVID-19

An endocrinologist provides diagnosis and treatment services for a patient via video link in Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, China, May 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)

BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's online health services industry expanded further in 2020, with wider user groups and increasing service providers as the COVID-19 epidemic reshaped the country's healthcare sector, said a report on the country's internet development.

By December 2020, online health service users in China totaled 215 million, accounting for 21.7 percent of the internet-using population, according to the report issued by the China Internet Network Information Center.

It said that by the end of October 2020, China had over 900 online hospitals, more than 5,500 major hospitals in China offered online services, and a remote medical coordination network covered all prefecture-level cities.

The report also noted that online and offline health services in China, as well as insurance services, had been boosted in a more coordinated way with greater participation from major internet companies in the sector.