China’s State Council has declared that healthcare big data is a fundamental, strategic national resource. Jun Wei and Roy Zou, partners at Hogan Lovells in Beijing, explain what the new regulations mean.

At the end of June, the State Council issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting and Regulating the Development of the Application of Healthcare Big Data. These declare that healthcare big data is a fundamental, strategic national resource; recognise that its development will have a significant impact on healthcare and medical treatment; and formulate programmatic plans for development goals, key tasks, and an organisational framework. Given the Guiding Opinions’ embrace of digitisation, the use of data, and information sharing, we expect that a 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.

Experts believe that this campaign will not only be a boon to the health industry, bringing improvements to the current pattern of medical treatment, but will also accelerate the development of China as a whole.

The public stands to benefit, as big data will facilitate medical treatment. Patients will be able to seek consultations, and make doctor appointments online, and pay bills through mobile devices. And examination and test results will be mutually recognised among medical institutes in the future, facilitating collaboration and better accommodating patients who transfer institutions.

For businesses in this sector, the campaign signals a promising future for the development of online healthcare and medical treatment. The government will collaborate closely with private entities closely, and encourage private investment in the areas of foundational works, application development and operations. Market participants who are able to grasp this opportunity will greatly benefit from it.

By the end of 2020, the state plans to establish and continuously improve the inter-connectivity of what are called Public Health Information Platforms and National Medicine Purchasing Business Platforms; to reduce or remove information barriers among different departments, thereby boosting the sharing and utilisation of healthcare data; and set up 100 model regional clinical data demonstration centres.

The government has listed a wide range of key tasks that need to be completed.

The first step will be to lay 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 will 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 thorough which health information can be recorded and transferred to the population health information platform.

Second, 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 will significantly enhance research and the ability to prevent health related emergencies.

To further facilitate the power of technology, the state will help solve 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 recognised 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.

Third, the state will promote and regulate what is called Internet+ healthcare services. The key point 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.

Finally, 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 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.

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.

The Guiding Opinions are a clear sign that the Chinese government intends comprehensively to promote the application of healthcare data so as to resolve the conflict between the increasing medical needs of the public and the low efficiency of the current, mostly off-line medical system in a better manner. 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. 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.

Jun Wei and Roy Zou are partners at Hogan Lovells in Beijing