The pandemic has altered the landscape of digital healthcare in China, and Johnson and Johnson pharmaceutical subsidiary Xian Janssen is taking further action to tap its potential, according to the head of the company.

Asgar Rangoonwala, president of Xian Janssen, said the company will expand its digital platform-based cooperation and business model to reach more patients and improve treatment outcomes in the post-COVID-19 era.

The pandemic has accelerated digital healthcare development in China, and Rangoonwala was impressed with the Chinese government's agility in dealing with COVID-19, especially the "outstandingly forward-looking" moves of granting a large number of e-hospital licenses. As of the end of June, nearly 600 e-hospitals have been approved and established across the country.

"The intention is very clear to see. It's about managing chronic diseases in a much more modern way than asking patients to always return to the hospitals, but also to ensure better treatment access for areas which are poor and less developed, besides big cities like Shanghai or Beijing," he said.

Digital healthcare has the potential to improve China's healthcare system, he said, adding he strongly believes digitalized healthcare is the future of healthcare systems.

To that end, the company inked a strategic collaboration in September with the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University to cooperate in the e-hospital realm.

The company and the hospital will explore e-hospital-based approaches to improve patient treatment compliance and treatment maintenance for different diseases, starting with hematology, solid tumors, immunology and pulmonary arterial hypertension, to achieve better treatment outcomes.

As part of the cooperation, the company will donate 1 million yuan ($152,800) to support academic activities and digital capability development between the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University and Gannan People's Hospital, as well as enable local patients to get free online consultations from the Gannan branch of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Northwest China's Gansu province is about 800 kilometers from Xi' an, the capital of Shaanxi province.

The company has already observed a modern and digitalized healthcare system in China and has launched its most modern products in the Chinese market. Most have been added to the national reimbursement drug list, but there is much room for improvement in treatment compliance and maintenance, he said, adding there's not a strong ecosystem for patients in chronic disease management in China's current healthcare system, and through digital healthcare solutions the company hopes to improve patient treatment outcomes.

"We always try to combine products, expertise and disease management in order to achieve a better treatment outcome. Digital platforms like e-hospitals are definitely a great way to foster that further," he said.

As part of these efforts, the company has also supported the China Primary Health Care Foundation in establishing the Lifelong Public Welfare Fund, with joint efforts from China's digital giant Alibaba Group's healthcare arm, Ali Health, to identify tuberculosis patients, train doctors and provide access to the best possible treatment in Yunnan province, in a bid to eradicate the disease there and expand that experience to other provinces.

According to a recent report by iResearch Consulting Firm, time spent on healthcare and medical-related applications surged sharply from November 2019 to April 2020 in China.
During February, the month when COVID-19 cases peaked in China, daily active users of such apps increased 14.08 percent year-on-year.

The report also found more than 95 percent of the 1,275 survey respondents said they are basically satisfied with existing online healthcare services and products.

More than 80 percent said they are interested in the use or purchase of online healthcare services and products in the future.