11-Feb-18, Technode
Tencent - China’s largest internet company by market capitalization - armed with government endorsements, the most used app in China, new AI medical imaging technology, and tons of cash to invest in medical startups.
In 2014, Tencent launched WeChat Intelligent Healthcare (微信智慧医疗). The platform allows users to book appointments and make payments at hospitals and other medical facilities through WeChat public accounts. As of 2017, over 38,000 medical facilities in China have WeChat accounts. 60% of those provide online consultation and 35% support bill payment by WeChat pay.
Another service that could soon be found on WeChat is WeSure, a medical insurance underwritten by Tencent and insurer Taikang. The service began its pilot in Nov-17 for 1% of WeChat users, a meager 9.63 mn. WeChat's step count function can be linked to WeSure and users who clock over 8,000 steps in a day will receive a hongbao in their WeChat wallets.