The Concept of a Multiple Functioning Health Management Platform
in China
Yuyun Zhang
1
, Xiaolong Li
2, 3*
1
School of Nursing, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Tianjin, China
2
School of Economics, Peking University, Beijing, China
3
China National Health Development Research Center, NHFPC, Beijing, China
Keywords: Health Management Platform, Informatization, Nationwide System.
Abstract: Chinese State Council proposed informatization in all industries in 2015, the destination is to provide
impartial, efficient, high-quality and fast online health services. However, the contemporary Internet system
cannot match the demand of mass storage and powerful calculation for large amount of data and restrict the
share of information between health service providers, thus a new system is required to solve the problem.
After reviewing literatures related to health information management and internet usage in medical field in
different regions and integrating multiple frameworks, the new framework of a health management platform
seek to connect individuals, institutions and government is conceived and built. The platform-constructed
based on recent ideas and applications of health database, mobile devices, cloud computing and virtual
reality-include individual, institution, emergency response and supervision system. Chinese future health
management platform will be set up refer to this framework.
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Contemporary Condition of
Health-Related Informatization
Health management is a process for control and
intervention of health hazards based on testing,
analyzing, estimating and calculating the health
condition and hazards of individuals and colonies
(Li et al. 2007). This is a long-term process in which
life-time follow-up and proper distribution of
resources are demanded. However, in China, the
lack of communication between patients and heath
service providers and family doctors, the irregular
three stage referral system and health education and
promotion system, the diversity of health service
institutions’ information systems restrict the
follow-up of patients and others groups of people,
which have a negative effect on long-term
management especially for people suffer from
chronic diseases or sub-health condition (Zhang et
al. 2015).
Informatization has been changing the way of
health management and health care system.
Electronic health records, mobile devices and cloud
technology appear to be new ways for health care.
International Medical and Health Organization
define mobile health as ‘Using mobile
communication technology in the delivery of
medical information and heath care services.’ On
July 4th, 2015, Chinese State Council proposed
informatization in all industries, which became a
national plan for future development and demands
for new online medical pattern. The destination is to
provide impartial, efficient, high-quality and fast
online health services (Li 2015). The new
information system look for ways to anastomose
Internet, mobile Internet, cloud computing, virtual
technology and mega data technology.
However, based on the contemporary Internet
system, mobile communication technology and
incipient Cloud computing cannot match the
demand of mass storage and powerful calculation
for large amount of data (Jiang 2013). The
individual medical Apps used currently are mainly
focus on information collection and arrangement
(Chen & Long 2015). After several years developing
from finance charge mode to a multiple system for
treatment, education, research and resources
management, the contemporary electronic health
record systems widely used in hospital are based on
wireless local area networks with more advantage
3
Li X. and Zhang Y.
The Concept of a Multiple Functioning Health Management Platform in China.
DOI: 10.5220/0006442700030007
In ISME 2016 - Information Science and Management Engineering IV (ISME 2016), pages 3-7
ISBN: 978-989-758-208-0
Copyright
c
 2016 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
3

and efficiency for the medical records entering,
patient monitoring, treatment delivering and
comprehensive hospital management (Zhang et al.
2015, Jiang 2013, Estevão Soares dos Santos &
Henrique Gil Martins 2011). However, the system
still confined to single institutions and restrict the
share of information between health service
providers (doctors, experts and institutions), which
cannot match the blooming users and servers, make
them more cost and resource consuming and
difficult to manage. A platform connecting
individuals (objects and providers of health care),
institutions (medical institution, scientific
institution, profitable companies) and government is
required as a respond to the situation (Jiang 2013,
Xu 2014).
1.2 The Purpose of the New Health
Management System
The new system aims to link individuals and
institutions together, collect and manage health
information from different sources, and promote the
rationality of resources distribution and proper
delivery of health services. For individuals, the new
system allow them to enter and manage their own
health-related information, get health advice from
health care professionals and practitioners, order for
proper medical treatment, connect health service
providers and so on. For health service providers,
the new system is useful in managing medical
treatment and health care information, use them in
clinical practice and share information with other
institutions when necessary to deliver proper health
services to individuals. For pharmaceutical
companies and instrument companies, the new
system is mainly used for manage clients’
information and adjust the consume market.
2 THE FORMULATION OF AN
INTEGRATED HEALTH
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
2.1 Core system
Core system is the central system for collecting,
storing and managing information from individual
platform, institution platform, emergency
responding system and supervision system (see
Figure 1).
Figure 1： Core System and main subsystems.
2.2 Individual Platform
According to the survey target to 951 patients from
three different hospitals in three provinces in 2013,
more than 80% of the patients seek for health
information online. For those who get health
information online, 75.3% of them getting
information mainly from integrated portals such as
Google and Baidu while less than half of them
choose to find information through website of
registered health institutions. More than 97% of
them tend to totally or partially believe the
information online (Dai et al. 2014). Meanwhile, as
a result of profitable purpose for medical
applications, many medical information online aim
at promoting sales instead of delivering helpful,
reliable and objective health information. From the
research done by Sajid, more than half of the
information online are products and services
advertisement produced by commercial companies.
Thus brought up the issue of people’s vulnerability
of the inaccurate or misleading health messages
(Sajid et al. 2008, Dai et al. 2009, Jin & Pan 2012).
In order to protect individuals from the onset
detriment, a system for medical monitoring,
management, prevent and succour which are
controlled and monitored by government, led by
registered health institutions are required(Zhang et
al. 2015, Sajid et al. 2008). Individual Platform is
mainly used by individual consumers (objects of
health services), who are allowed to choose devices
and modules based on their own requirement (Jiang
2013). The basic purpose is to store physical
information (including monitoring for basic body
constitution, vital sign, nutrition, blood sugar, etc.),
life and social information (diet, motion, rest, family
condition, etc.), psychological conditions, medical
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history (history of past illness and allergy, etc.) and
family members’ health information using
embedded scales, questionnaires and tabulations
(Cipresso et al. 2012, Jeong et al. 2009, Anderson et
al. 1998). The information collected will be used in
monitoring body condition and alerting for onset.
According to the result, individuals can get
highly-targeted health-related information and
proper and seasonable treatment, which are provided
by health service providers, from the core system
(Zhang et al. 2011, Zhang 2011). All information
given must be objective containing positive and
negative information with plain language (Sajid et
al. 2008). The mobile devices and applications
include hardware devices such as personal
computers, tablets, smart phones, bio-sensors and
health patches such as wearable sensors(contact
lenses, audiphone, smart bracelet, smart watch and
smart shoe-pad, etc.) and software includes
phone-used applications and sensors and
transmission systems in the bio-sensors (Cipresso et
al. 2012, Taylor et al. 2016). (see Figure 2)
2.3 Institution Platform
Institution platform is designed for health service
providers, including health care institutions,
pharmaceuticals companies, insurance companies,
pharmacies, professionals, practitioners. The
platform is related to two sub-system: staff-using
system and management system.
For health service providers such as health care
institutions, center for diseases control and
prevention and hospitals, information contributed to
the core platform will come from digital medical
records and scanning copies of past paper
documents, including hospital visit history,
prescription, diagnosis result, examination result,
medical treatment process, hospitalization and
discharge description and reservation information
(Jeong et al. 2009). For other institutions, the
information are mainly from clients entered by
staffs. To guarantee the exactitude of personal
information, the system must include complete
records from outpatients, inpatients, medicine
consumers and corporate clients from all
institutions, and all information has to be connected
together in the core health management platform
(Hugo et al. 2011).
The staffs of the medical institutions can use
mobile terminals as a workstation and can inquire
for medical information, deliver treatment, nursing
care and enter information, which increase working
efficiency and reduce the rate of errors and accidents
(Liu & Liu 2010). Based on the information from
Figure 2. Individual platform and its relationship with
other platforms.
the core platform and directly from individual users,
providers can deliver niche targeting advice and
guidance to individuals, including hospital visit
guidance, treatment plans, related services, trigger
and vulnerability control, health education and
consul
 tation. During an emergency situation,
providers can obtain information in a certain
domain, they can only get part of the information
which is vital for rescue and treatment. For instance,
allergy, blood type, pharmacy history, recent visit
history and contact information are open to
providers while family and financial conditions are
closed (Chen & Long 2015, Jeong et al. 2009). As
for profitable companies and scientific researchers,
information any personal information is closed
unless permissions are guaranteed by the
supervision system.
In health service institutions, management
departments can use mobile terminals to supervise
the medical treatment, safety issues, logistics and
The Concept of a Multiple Functioning Health Management Platform in China
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Figure 3. Institution platform, its subsystems and main
function.
other conditions, solve problems and control
medical quality and financial condition (Liu & Liu
2010). In profitable companies, management team is
allowed to obtain both companies’ operation
patterns and the market trends within limits.(see
Figure 3).
2.4 Supervision System
Supervision System is designed for ethical issues.
The supervision system will totally controlled by
computer program to avoid the selection bias. All
the standards of requests for linked health
information will be formulated by a committee
formed by citizen deputies, health care practitioners,
scientists and government staffs before the whole
system being introduced to the society
(Chamberlayne et al. 1998).
The new health management system, as a system
related to individuals, institutions and governments
in a wide range rather than being kept locally,
contains a population-based and person-specific
information which can be accessed and shared for
some reasons. As a result, the privacy risk will
increased as individual can be identified by multiple
data and information shared in a single system
(Anderson et al. 1998, Abbing 1999). The standards
must include coding and linkage regulations,
conditions for information release and share,
commission for information usage and security
arrangement for personal information
(Chamberlayne et al. 1998). Individual users and
institutions have the right to decide the information
shared in the core system, which means that they
can choose to keep part of the information private or
only shared in a particular range (Jiang 2013,
Abbing 1999).
Institutions’ right to deliver health-related
services also required to be limited to avoid
improper health care for users since medical practice
need to be precise rigorous. Rules for specify
admittance, service providers, extents, quality,
safety, information criterion and payment system is
efficacious for supervising health-related services
(Sajid et al. 2008, Wang & Zhao 2016).
2.5 Communication Center
Communication Center is a linkage for individuals,
institutions, governments and emergency responding
system to accomplish information exchange.
According to Dai Fei-fei and colleagues, patients
found it more convenient, time-saving and
better-arranged to order online (Dai et al. 2014).
Thus in the new system, individual users can order
an appointment with a doctor and require for
examination results through communication center
(Zhang et al. 2011). The center allows Individuals to
get health advice from health care professionals,
order for proper medical treatment and connect
health service providers during treatment (Jeong et
al. 2009). Peer-lead education (communication and
symposium between patients) is efficient in health
education and psychotherapy and mental nursing.
The empathy towards people with same diseases can
producing a supportive environment for experience
share and knowledge transfer. Thus the
communication center will design a set of online
chat rooms for patients suffering from same diseases
(Dai et al. 2009, Sharif et al. 2010, Taleghani et al.
2006).
Health service providers can use mobile
terminals to follow up patients’ condition and give
proper advice and treatments through the center.
Government can use the center to distribute and
arrange medical and social resources, communicate
with health providers during emergency situations.
2.6 Technical and Logistics Supporting
System
As the whole system include a set of service systems
and terminals, a big team of IT professionals are
needed for developing related software, services,
applications, monitoring and keeping the system
work properly, avoiding serious safety
vulnerabilities, breakdown and ensuring that health
care services can be delivered at the proper occasion
(Jiang 2013, Xu 2014).
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3 DISCUSSION AND
CONCLUSION
Although the system will help with the
informatization in medical industry, there are still
problems to solve. The biggest problem lay on the
legislation and national standards regarding privacy,
confidentiality, patent protection, information share
and safety and benign competition. The limits of the
contemporary medical legislation prohibit medical
practitioners to provide long-distance diagnosis and
treatment through internet and mobile terminals (Xu
2014, Wang & Zhao 2016, Stanimirovic & Vintar
2013).Addictive behavior is another considerable
problem related to Internet users. People might
search for health information to fulfill the demand of
ceremonial and process satisfaction rather than for
the application of information, which can trigger
superfluous addiction for mobile terminals (Jin &
Pan 2012, Wang & Peng).
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