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15 September, 2016
Introduction
On June 21, 2016, the State Council issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting and Regulating the Development of the Application of Healthcare Big Data ("Guiding Opinions"). The Guiding Opinions declare that healthcare big data is a fundamental, strategic national resource; recognize that its development will have a significant impact on healthcare and medical treatment; and formulate programmatic plans for development goals, key tasks, and an organizational framework. Given the Guiding Opinions' embrace of digitization, the use of data, and information sharing, we expect that a foreseeable campaign to promote the development of big data in healthcare sector is ahead of us, and that we might see evolutionary or even revolutionary changes occur in the healthcare sector.
What is "big data in healthcare"?
Big data in healthcare refers to the aggregation of multiple aspects of healthcare-related information covering the full life-cycle of a large constituency of people, covering personal health, medical services, disease control and prevention, food safety, health preservation, among other things.
How do the Guiding Opinions affect China?
Experts commonly believe that this campaign will not only be a boon to the health industry of the country, bringing improvements to the current pattern of medical treatment, but will also accelerate the development of economy and society in China as a whole.
The public stands to benefit, as big data will significantly facilitate medical treatment activities of patients. Patients will be able to seek consultations on-line, make doctor appointments via Internet, and to pay bills through mobile devices, greatly increasing convenience and access to health care. And examination and test results will be mutually recognized among medical institutes in the future, facilitating collaboration and better accommodating patients who transfer institutions.
For businesses in this sector, this campaign signals a promising future for the development of Internet healthcare and medical treatment. The government will be collaborating with private entities closely, and encourage private investment in the areas of foundational works, application development and operations. As a newly emerging field, it is widely believed that big data in healthcare will become a new area that will stimulate China's economic growth. Market participants who are able to grasp this opportunity will greatly benefit from it.
Development goals and key tasks
The state aims, by the end of 2020, to establish and continuously improve the inter-connectivity of Public Health Information Platforms and National Medicine Purchasing Business Platforms; reduce or remove information barriers among different departments, thereby boosting the sharing and utilization of healthcare data; and set up 100 model regional clinical data "demonstration centers".
The government lists a wide range of key tasks to be completed to achieve these goals.
The first step will be laying a solid foundation for the application of healthcare big data. The state will establish an authoritative, unified and interconnected platform for population health information, and promote the opening and sharing of healthcare big data. In keeping with leading technology development trends, the state encourages the development of wearable devices, smart health products and mobile applications ("apps") thorough which health information can be recorded and transferred to the population health information platform.
Secondly, the state will comprehensively deepen the application of healthcare big data. It will reinforce its supervision of medical institutes and continue to reform public medical institutes. Big data is expected to be widely applied to clinical use, research, and public health protection, with the goal that the analysis of big data with significantly enhance research and the ability to prevent health related emergencies.
To further facilitate the power of technology, the state will assist in solving any potentially intractable technical difficulties that might arise regarding the collection, storage and protection of healthcare big data. Private investments are encouraged to participate in the business of healthcare, especially in geriatric care, family health services, and online drug stores under administration by the state. The promotion of digital healthcare devices is also a focus of this campaign – artificial intelligence, medical robots, and biological 3D printing technology are recognized as having great potential to assist in the development of healthcare big data, and it is expected that the state will provide support to these high-tech sectors.
Thirdly, the state will promote and regulate "Internet + healthcare" services. The key point of this task will be to develop and regulate smart healthcare services and build up a remote healthcare system which allows mutual recognition medical examination tests and test results, improving cooperation and coordination among medical institutes.
Last but not the least, emphasis will be placed on data protection, given the intense concern by both the public and the state on issues surrounding the safety of personal information in the Internet era. The state will strengthen legislation activities to formulate rules for entry thresholds, fidelity mechanisms and exit mechanisms for the providers of healthcare big data related platforms, such as apps providers. An Internet credibility system will be put in place to increase accountability and better ensure the safety of personal information.
Task implementation
Governmental departments will cooperate with each other closely. Expert committees shall be established to formulate development strategies, and relevant policies, regulations and standards.
The state will start with issues that are urgently needed by the public, such as online appointments, remote medical treatment and mutual recognition of examination results, and support development of wearable smart devices for better collection of medical information and supervision of the health condition of patients. Pilot cities will be selected to test the application of big data in healthcare on a trial basis, and based on their experience and lessons, the government will roll out successful aspects in an orderly way, nation-wide.
In addition, new policies will be adopted to encourage private sector participation. The new policies will cover issues like tax, investment and innovation. The state encourages a “Public– Private–Partnership” model to attract funds and other resources from the private sector to carry out the construction of foundation works and develop and operate apps. Meanwhile, the state will establish risk control and supervision systems to secure investments.
Furthermore, the state will take steps to enhance public use of apps and health literacy by increasing publicity about the application of healthcare big data, highlighting its significant positive implications and relevant government policies, and by directing medical institutes and societal forces to carry out various activities to popularize knowledge regarding the application of big data in healthcare.
Finally, the state will promote exchange, communication and cooperation with other countries or regions to obtain advanced technologies; participate in establishing international standards, thereby increasing China's leverage in rule formulation; and improve the application of big data in healthcare from the perspective of quality, core competence and level of internationalization.
Conclusion
The Guiding Opinions are a clear sign that the Chinese government intends to comprehensively promote the application of healthcare data so as to better resolve the conflict between the increasing medical needs of the public and the low efficiency of the current, mostly off-line medical system. The Guiding Opinions provide us with a picture of health information as a strategic resource that will be brought into fuller use and under the care of all- round supervision and protection. By it, patients in China will get quality medical treatment in a much more efficient way. To do this, the government welcomes participants from the private sector, and there is great potential for the development of hundreds and thousands of private entities.
As a framework document, the Guiding Opinions provide general plans and principles, as opposed to specific moves and steps. Many details await being filled in, and the great scope of this endeavor, i.e. the reform of the whole healthcare sector, means there are also many challenges that will be waiting to be overcome and problems to be solved. As such, we expect to see more concrete rules rolled out in the future to further guide the development of healthcare big data and further direct what some of the key business opportunities may be for private sector involvement.
For further information, please contact:
Roy Zou, Partner, Hogan Lovells
roy.zou@hoganlovells.com
