Alipay to launch mobile medical platform  

(ECNS) -- Alipay, the payment subsidiary of China's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, said on Thursday that it will open its platform to hospitals and medical institutions, the Economic Information Daily reported.

The comprehensive mobile medical care platform will include an account system, payment and financial solution plans, cloud computing capability, and a big data platform.

Called "future hospital," the platform will help Chinese hospitals improve operation efficiency and optimize allocation of medical resources, the company said.

Zhang Jiangang, vice president of Alipay's O2O (online to offline) department and leader of the project, said the platform will have three stages and may take 5 to 10 years to complete.

Zhang said the first phase of the plan is to help hospitals set up mobile medical systems that allow users to make appointments, pay medical fees, and communicate with hospital staff through the company's Alipay Wallet mobile app.

The second stage will further reduce the need for repeated hospital visits by enabling hospitals to offer electronic prescriptions, medicine delivery, and other patient-friendly services.

In the final phase, a medical services management platform that takes advantage of Alipay's big data processing and analytical capabilities will be established, Zhang added.

More than 10 hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other first-tier cities have already agreed to cooperate in the project.