Future Watch: Healthcare in China and opportunities for Finnish technologies

OTSIKKO
ALAOTSIKKO, KUUKAUSI VUOSI
FUTURE WATCH: HEALTH CARE IN CHINA AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FINNISH TECHNOLOGIES

Future Watch: China Health Care and Opportunities Report, June 20172
SUMMARY
• China’s health institutions are divided into three tiers, each designated for differing grades of diseases and injuries, with insurance covering 95% of
the population since 2013.
• Sharing records and information across China’s tiered healthcare system still needs to be fully developed. The government struggles in this area and
needs assistance from experienced companies in streamlining the record sharing process.
• China bears an extremely uneven distribution of medical and healthcare resources. 80% of Chinese reside in regions where medical and healthcare
resources are not well developed, and 80% of health resources in China are in big or mid-sized cities.
• Expected healthcare spending in 2020 is ￥8 trillion, doubling from 2015. This figure is expected to double again to ￥16 trillion by 2030.
• China’s population of 60+ year olds reached 230.9 million in 2016, setting a huge strain on the healthcare sector. 70% of elders aged 60+ suffer from
at least one chronic disease which require more healthcare than they are currently receiving, but have no acute needs for visiting a hospital.
• Private hospitals are seeing an abundance of investment. Combined with the increased willingness to embrace foreign tech, the lower bureaucratic
barriers, ability to spend and diversified offerings, private hospitals offer great B2B opportunities.
• Dedicated aged care institutions are not as culturally relevant in China, yet their need is increasingly accepted. The huge demand for adequately
trained aged care professionals and efficient processes and solutions offers B2B opportunities for tech providers.
• Finnish businesses should aim to facilitate the development of applications for hospitals and other medical institutions by providing solutions that
are easy to integrate with Chinese systems. Catering to the online regulations and maintaining the dialogue with patients are among the biggest
challenges for medical professionals.
• Elderly-focused products and services targeting hospitals, health service providers or professionals (B2B) are more likely to show higher adoption.
Technologies might also aim to appeal to millennials who are much more open to trying out new solutions from Europe and likely to encourage their
parents or grandparents to use an innovation that might help maintain their health or screen diseases.
• Many elder Chinese do not have pensions as they did agricultural work or their own business when young. Private pension ratio accounts for only
4% of China’s GDP compared to 76% in Sweden and 209% in Denmark.
• China’s tech companies involved in health such as Alibaba and Tencent are suitable targets for Finnish companies as they typically have large cash
reserves, are more open to foreign technologies and have scale.
• Expand on elderly parents living in villages, with kids living in cities, further reinforcing the need for monitoring health and well-being as way to care
for parents. This might also offer possibilities for children to skirt around regulations that obligate parent care and are therefore attractive.

CHINA’S HEALTHCARE
SYSTEM
3

CHINA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Pharmaceutical
Services
Independent
Pharmacies
Pharmacies
(affiliated with
medical institution)
Medical
Services
Secondary &
Tertiary Hospitals
Primary
Hospitals
Public Health
Prevention Centres
(dedicated to different
areas)
In an attempt to make health care distribution in China more accessible across regions and to relieve top hospitals from becoming too crowded, a tiered
system was introduced in 2006. China’s health institutions are divided into three tiers, each designated for differing grades of diseases and injuries. With
insurance covering 95% of the population by 2013, benefits still differ greatly depending on location and funding.
Health education on
• Basic diseases
prevention & control
(coughs, sinusitis
etc.)
• Family planning,
mother & children
• Mental health
• Blood donation
• Special diseases &
emergencies
• Basic medical care
• Rural Areas: Township
Health Centres &
Village Clinics
• Urban Areas:
Community Health
Centres & Community
Health Stations
• Higher quality services
& more advanced
medical supplies
• Generally preferred by
patients as better
qualified doctors, even
for less serious
treatments
• Typically located in
urban areas
• Usually located
in a hospital
• Supplies
prescription
medicine
• Located in cities
& villages
• Provides general
medicine that is
freely available
Source: China Health Systems in Transition
Sharing records and information across China’s tiered health care
system still needs to be fully developed. The government
struggles in this area and needs assistance from experienced
companies in streamlining the record sharing process. Big data
companies are a key point of interest for this development such
as Tencent’s WeDoctor. For more on WeDoctor see page 22.

Hospitals
Public hospitals are tiered in grades and levels, the highest of which is 3A. These hospitals are bigger,
better-equipped and attract the best doctors. Only 4% of China’s hospitals are rated 3A.
China bears an extremely uneven distribution of medical and healthcare resources. 80% of Chinese
reside in regions where medical and healthcare resources are not well developed, 80% of all health
resources in China are in big or mid-sized cities.
A strong lack of trust over less renowned doctors/facilities sees patients flock to higher-rated
hospitals. This often leaves urban hospitals brimming with patients and hamstrung by inefficient
administration.
Since 2006 China has been attempting to rectify this with various reforms, to little avail. Systems like
Beijing’s unified appointment registration system (2011) are still compromised by ’scalpers’ who will
wait days to get an appointment ticket. Some Chinese make their living this way charging ￥850 per
ticket – almost three times the face value. Often only a quarter of this amount is income for the
professional scalper with the rest of the profit going to hospital insiders who help secure tickets.
Tickets from scalpers can get patients in front of a doctor in two days, compared with a wait of up to
two weeks.
Current reform is centred around creating a hierarchical medical system. Huge inefficiencies are
caused by patients going to tertiary facilities as a first point of contact. The current lack of general
practitioners is key to this - on guidelines that every 10,000 people need 3 general practitioners,
China’s supply is short 219,200. The government has set a target of registering every household with a
family doctor by 2020.
KEY CHALLENGES FOR THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR
What are the Biggest Difficulties
in Accessing Medical Care?
Long queues and waiting
times for registration
Don’t know where to
find the right doctor
Lack of natural therapy
options
Ambiguities in
treatment plans
Inappropriate referral &
inconvenient visit
arrangements
Preferred doctors always
occupied
64%
53%
50%
47%
47%
37%
Uncertainty about doctors’ expertise, quality of treatments, the system’s efficiencies and time spent
for healthcare has led to the dissatisfaction of many Chinese patients. Integrated digital solutions are
likely to improve the service level, enhance trust among patients and facilitate communication among
professionals for diagnosis and consultation.
Source: Accenture, SCMP

71%
55%
47%
40%
14%
2%
Diagnosis & treatment in primary hospitals
Convenience of patients when visiting
Availability of medication in primary hospitals
Health insurance coverage
System of private and family doctors
Others
Areas that Require Attention
66%
61%
41%
29%
14%
12%
Worries about doctor's competency
Concerns about poor medical equipment
No specialty departments
Concerns about medication availability
Unaware of community hospitals
Uncertainty of insurance coverage
Reasons for Chinese not to go to community hospitals
6
NEARLY 70% OF CHINESE
PATIENTS PREFER TO
VISIT TERTIARY
HOSPITALS FIRST.
ONLY 8% SAY THEY
WOULD CHOOSE A
COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
FOR INITIAL DIAGNOSIS.
Digital integrations could vastly improve these
areas, especially if facilitating the access of medical
information and medicines in grassroots hospitals.
Source: Accenture

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC,
SOCIETAL AND
TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS
INFLUENCING CHINA’S
HEALTHCARE SECTOR

FACTORS INFLUENCING CHINA’S HEALTH AND AGED CARE DEVELOPMENT
Political
factors
Economic
factors
Social
factors
Technological
factors
Political Factors
• Government regulation on traditional
and digital healthcare
• Push for domestic medical equipment
• Acceptance of Chinese Traditional
Medicine
Economic Factors
• Rising disposable incomes meaning
more spent on healthcare
• Increase in domestic and foreign
private investment
Societal Factors
• Growing middle class and rapidly
aging society
• Distinct target groups, younger white
collar workers and elders
• Shifts in views of caring for elders
• Proactive health trends among young
and old
PEST
analysis
Technological Factors
• Internet adoption and use of
smartphones
• Acceptance and want of digital tools
in daily lives
• Increase in digital for healthcare for
both B2C and B2B

THE GOVERNMENT IS NOW
PUSHING FOR INCREASED
EXPOSURE AND PERCEPTIONS OF
TCM AND DOMESTICALLY-
PRODUCED MEDICAL DEVICES
ACROSS ALL SECTORS
POLITICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING CHINA’S HEALTH SECTOR
Government regulation on healthcare
• The Chinese government has the ultimate say over regulations
and reforms. A pertinent example is the rollback on digital health
services as outlined on page 23.
• The government has vowed to register every household in China
with a family doctor by 2020; this is particularly applicable to rural
families as they are less likely to visit primary hospitals and due to
the lack of general practitioners in China.
• China appreciates it has a ballooning elderly population that is
increasingly underserved by the public health system, so has
introduced regulations for private and JV to fill the gap.
• China’s Cyber Security Law introduced in June 2017 means,
among other things, that foreign businesses operating in China
will need to store data in China, having consequences for digital
health providers.
Push for domestic medical equipment
• The Chinese government is fully supporting the rise of Chinese medical
device makers through Supply-Side Reform. Currently the high-end
medical device market dominated by foreign brands - around 80-90%.
Domestic manufacture is based around low-end segments like glassware.
• The current 5 year health plan seeks to have a 50% market share for
domestically-produced high-end medical devices in public hospitals by
2020, with a 70% share by 2025. The push for domestically-produced
medical devices is across all sectors however.
• Tax breaks for Chinese medical device makers includes high-tech R&D
(this year raised to 75% for SMEs), and lower lab costs and other
incentives in designated industrial parks, as well as changes to the
regulatory system to encourage innovation. A 5 year plan specifically for
medical devices in China is to be released later this year. B2B
opportunities explored from page 17.
Acceptance of Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM)
• In a drive towards a “Healthy China” a law will go into effect July 1st, 2017
that aims to place TCM on equal footing with science-based Western
medicine. The law requires that county-level governments and above
must set up TCM institutions in public-funded general hospitals and
mother & child care centres. Private investment will be encouraged in
these institutions.
• This law will also focus on improved training for TCM professionals, with
TCM and Western medicine to learn from and complement one another.
Source: China National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), KPMG

ECONOMIC FACTORS INFLUENCING CHINA’S HEALTH SECTOR
Rising disposable incomes means more spent on
healthcare
• China’s upper middle-income group (€9,500-€28,000) will
expand from 7.1% of the population in 2015 to 19.7% in 2030.
High-income individuals (above €28,000), representing 2.6% of
the population in 2015, will comprise 14.5% in 2030.
• Rising disposable incomes and an expanding middle class will
see a greater expenditure on healthcare, and in particular
specialty care. Expected healthcare spending in 2020 is ￥8
trillion, doubling from 2015. This figure is expected to double
again to ￥16 trillion by 2030.
• The average Chinese household saves 30% of its disposable
income, one of the world’s highest saving rates. A prominent
reason for saving is covering health costs later in life as Chinese
feel insecure about government policies and support for the
long term.
• Dissatisfaction with public service, coupled with increasing
means to pay for alternatives is driving alternatives such as
private hospitals and medical tourism.
• However, as of June 2017 approximately 7.34 million Chinese
have fallen into poverty due to the costs of treating medical
conditions. As a result, the National Health and Family Planning
Commission (NHFPC) pledged to guarantee appropriate
treatment to every severely ill person by 2020.
Increase in domestic and foreign private investment
• China’s growth and influence on the healthcare industry also
means there will be an increase in domestic and private
investment.
• Chinese government and private investments are laid out on
page 14.
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Deloitte, NHFPC
More money to spend on healthcare is leading the healthcare
industry to diversify and offer more opportunities for niche
products and services and smaller businesses.
Align Technology is an example of a company capitalising on
this diversification. They have sold Invisalign, an alternative to
metal braces, in China since 2011 seeing their business double
every year.
Over the past decade, the Chinese orthodontic market has
grown steadily as the importance of dental health and
personal appearance has increased among the general
population. Today, China is estimated to have nearly half a
million new orthodontic cases start each year, Invisalign’s
growth reflects the huge market opportunity for orthodontic
treatment.

11 Future Watch: China Health Care and Opportunities Report, June 2017
SOCIETAL FACTORS INFLUENCING CHINA’S HEALTH & AGED CARE SECTORS
Tradition of caring for parents in old age
• China has a strong tradition of caring for parents in old
age, however urban migration is causing children and
parents to live apart more than ever.
• The pressure to care for one’s elders is exacerbated by the
one-child policy. Now there is more pressure on individuals
to care for parents whereas in the past this responsibility
was shared among siblings.
Shifts in views on caring for elders
• Aged care homes are not as culturally relevant in China as in the West.
At the end of 2016 there were 28,000 aged care institutions set up to
care for the 230.9 million 60+ population. To put this in perspective
USA had 36,000 aged care facilities in 2009.
• This is exemplified by a 2016 study that found only 5% of seniors
actively wish to move into elderly homes. However, around 70% would
understand if their children sent them away, showing great market
potential.
• Traditionally Chinese elderly rarely sought medical care as it was seen
as more auspicious to die at home within their family. Changing
structures and the younger generation moving away to cities has led to
older people feeling neglected and left behind in their villages.
• 43 million Chinese older than 65 years are widowed, divorced or
unmarried. Widely-dispersed families contribute to elderly’s solitude,
resulting in consistently rising suicide rates among the rural elderly
population in the past 10 years.
• Since 2013, children are required by law to pay frequent visits and
provide spiritual and financial support for parents older than 60 years.
Even though parents can sue their children for breaking this law,
penalties and enforcements are not specified. Bigger cities like
Shanghai announced impacts on children’s social credit ratings. The
passage of this law could create additional need for monitoring elders
as a way to care for them and tracking children to ensure they are
following the rules.
Specific Aged Care Plans & Targets for 2020
• Implement a national ‘90-7-3’ plan (90% of elderly cared for at home,
7% at community care centres and 3% at nursing homes). Altered to
‘90-6-4’ for some cities like Shanghai/Beijing.
• Increase beds from 5 million to 7-8 million
• Increase workforce from 1 million to 10 million
The size of the upscaling targeted paints the picture of how greatly
needed reform in the aged care sector is. Apart from infrastructure there
is clearly a need for quality and efficient training programmes, along with
the cross-sector need for digital database and monitoring technology.
Source: China Committee of Ageing

12
Growing middle class and rapidly aging society
• China’s 2016 60+ population of 230.9m increased 25% from
2011. 65+ year olds will number 330m in 2050 - the size of
America’s total population today.
• Elderly are the group with the highest need for medical care, but
have also the highest saving rates and often refuse to spend on
their health until an acute problem occurs.
• The surging number of elderly in Chinese society is set to place a
huge strain on China’s healthcare sector. With the predisposition
of going to tertiary care facilities as the first consultation
hospitals will be increasingly bogged down. Ways to alleviate this
pressure is a focal point of the future of healthcare in China.
Distinct target groups: young white collar workers and elders
• The abandonment of the one-child policy saw births grow 11.7%
(1.9m) from Jan 2016. However, this can also be attributed to a
desirable monkey zodiac following the undesirable sheep after the
policy was loosened.
• There are several looming health crises attributable to changing
lifestyles in China. Around 28% of Chinese children will be
overweight or obese by 2030. There are approximately 500 million
pre-diabetic Chinese people, with serious concerns over the public
system’s ability to deal with them. Middle-aged men are also
expected to put a strain of the system as many suffer from
hypertension and diabetes, while 30% to 50% of them smoke.
SOCIETAL FACTORS INFLUENCING CHINA’S HEALTH & AGED CARE SECTORS
Proactive health trends among young and old
• Health and wellness are in vogue now in China, particularly among the hip and urban. An increase in healthier eating and physical fitness is
affecting food imports to gyms and if continued could bode well for the healthcare industry.
• Spending on health and wellness is expected to reach €61 billion by 2020 – a result of both rising incomes and awareness about wholesome
living among a growing middle and upper class.
• The total number of gym attendees across 70 major Chinese cities has increased by four to five million each year since 2011. The gym, health
and fitness industry in China generated €5.1 billion in 2016 with an annual growth of 11.8% from 2011 to 2016 – and this does not include sales
of health food.
• The government is also pushing the fitness industry as a “pillar in the national economy” with China’s fitness and leisure industry accounting for
0.15%-0.20% of domestic GDP with no signs of slowing.
Source: BCG, CKGSB, China’s 13th 5-Year Healthcare Plan

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING CHINA’S HEALTH SECTOR
Internet adoption and use of smartphones
• China has 732 million internet users as of 2017, that’s 53.1% of
the population
• Tech adoption is most prevalent among China’s youth: 76.6% of
internet users are 39 years old or younger
• The majority of internet users (95.1%) access through mobile
devices, primarily smartphones.
Acceptance and want of digital tools in daily life
• Chinese are familiar with using their smartphone for services
like paying to booking a doctor appointment to ordering food
and more. Mobile transactions accounted for €4.8 trillion in
2016. Showing 50 times more transactions in China than the
U.S., app and service monetisation based on micropayments en
masse is becoming possible.
• China now has a social credit system that serves as a reputation
reference and takes into account citizens’ online activities.
Chinese are not yet as concerned about digital security
compared to Europeans.
Increase in digital for healthcare for B2C and B2B
• While most big companies aside from Alibaba and Tencent are
playing catch up when it comes to digital in China, consumers and
business people are incorporating digital into their work lives.
• China‘s mobile healthcare market has grown 44.7%, from ￥2.95
billion (around €390 million) in 2014 to ￥4.27 billion in 2015.
Online services for elderly
A research institute on eldercare under the Ministry of Civil Affairs
launched the website GuaigunWang along with an app providing online
services for senior citizens in April 2017. The website offers services
such as entertainment, finance, home care, shopping and travel.
Technical products like a urine test machine called “Hipee” are featured
and it was announced that integrated O2O services such as shaving,
fixing lights, changing locks etc. will be provided in the future.
Source: iMedia Research Group, China Ministry of Civil Affairs

PRIVATE HOSPITALS
GENERALLY AIM FOR
HIGHER STANDARDS, HAVE
LESS BUDGETARY
CONSTRAINTS AS WELL AS
LESS BUREAUCRACY FOR
DECISION MAKING AND ARE
LIKELY TO BE THE LOWEST
HANGING FRUIT FOR
FINNISH HEALTH BRANDS.
PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN HEALTHCARE
The awareness of China’s impending
healthcare needs coupled with the
government’s realisation of its inability to
handle it has created a flurry of spending and
private investment. This is setting the scene for
an increasing number of B2B opportunities.
Independent medical examinations in China
grew 54% between 2010-2014, reaching
revenues of ￥4.76 billion. Despite the high
growth, private examination providers only
cover 2.5% of the market, compared to 35% in
the U.S. According to the 2017 Philips Future
Health Index, China has the lowest density of
skilled medical professionals compared to 19
other countries with 31.5 per 10,000 people.
Sources: Boston Consulting Group, China National Health & Family Planning Commission
Note: 2015 and 2016 data only included data up to November.
Private money into hospital investments in China
Private hospitals Public hospitals
2011 Nov 20152012 2013 2014 Nov 2016
0
15
10
5
20
25
30K
Numberofhospitals
Private hospitals exceeded
public ones
Despite private hospitals accounting for half of hospitals, these are often smaller
facilities so that 80% of medical professionals prefer to be employed in the public
sector. Top doctors often head to the renowned ‘Tier 3’ public hospitals due to
higher pay rates, better career prospects and several bureaucratic barriers to
practicing across multiple facilities. In 2015, only 2% of China’s doctors applied for
permits to work in more than one facility. 2017’s healthcare reform is launching a
plan to lessen these restrictions and make the quality of doctors more even.
The government’s plan to support private hospitals is particularly notable. Public
hospital beds per 10,000 patients are planned to increase 9% to 3.3 by 2020 while
private hospital beds are projected to grow 288% to 1.5 per 10,000.
Source: BCG, Philips, NHFPC

Private investments into China’s healthcare sector are taking place in different forms and scales. A prominent feature of private
investment taking shape is the government’s price reduction of land intended for healthcare use. This has seen residential
groups pouring money into these healthcare areas and their surrounding residential areas while other initiatives focus on
building highly specialised treatment centres that provide cutting-edge services.
TRENDS: EXAMPLES OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT
Thanks to reduced costs for purchasing land to
build a medical facility and growing value of nearby
residential areas, property companies are
increasingly investing into the space.
Suning Universal Co. in Nanjing set up a China-wide
￥5 billion fund to invest mainly in cosmetic
surgery hospitals. After opening a hospital in Tianjin,
the adjoined Evergrande Oasis residential
compound’s value rose by 16% to ￥8,474/sqm in
2016.
According to Ctrip, approximately 500,000 Chinese travelled overseas due to medical reasons in 2016, seeking therapies that are not
available in the Mainland. Affluent Chinese flew to Japan for physical check-ups for example or to the U.S. for genetic screenings. Finnish
businesses can leverage this opportunity by establishing partnerships with Chinese facilities and e.g. offer Finnish medical services via digital
integrations that patients or doctors can easily access from home. Similarly, there might be potential to utilise Helsinki Airport’s reputation
and connectivity to attract patients and professionals to Finland and staying connected upon their return via digital solutions.
Purpose of Investment Dalian Wanda Group announced an investment of
￥70 billion in an ambitious hospital park in
Chengdu hosting 10 hospitals and 30 healthcare
businesses. An additional ￥15 billion is being
funded for the development of 3 hospitals. These
initiatives aim to widen access to healthcare,
especially for China’s ageing population.
Similarly, local investments of ￥23 billion into
Sanya aim to establish the city as a domestic
medical tourism destination and attract wealthy
Chinese with treatments that are not available
elsewhere in the Mainland. The project aims to
capture the flow of medical tourists and build
centres of expertise within China.
Property
Development
Health Care
Development
Source: Bloomberg, China Real Estate Information Corp., Ctrip

DIGITAL HEALTH SERVICES
IN CHINA

Source: BCG, PWC
DIGITAL HEALTH SERVICES & FUTURE TRENDS
Digital solutions are instrumental in accelerating the shift of healthcare in China. China’s currently overstretched healthcare system
requires the role of technology to alleviate pressure.
As mobile and Internet-based technologies are developed and deployed to improve healthcare delivery China’s healthcare market
is expected to expand from €2.6 billion in 2014 to €96.4 billion in 2020 (measured by spending on digital health care).
Healthcare in China will be transformed. Every step will be affected: how patients are diagnosed, treated, and managed; how
physicians and hospitals operate; how pharmaceuticals and medical-technology (medtech) devices are supplied and used; how
players structure their offerings.
TECH ADOPTION IN CHINA’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Big Data enables precise diagnosis and
personalised health care. The Chinese
government is now focusing accelerating the
rollout of the disease-based standard clinical
data repository across a range of therapy areas.
By 2020, three digital national databases will be
established, incorporating health information,
health profiles and medical records.
Patient Databases will improve patient care and
consumer health. These databases can be used across
all sizes of hospitals to share resources, expertise and
information to ensure cost savings and efficiencies are
realised. Currently information is not centralized
leading to problems when patients visit more than
one hospital. Top hospitals are recognising the
importance of information technology and are
investing more to build capacity.
ALL FINNISH HEALTH SOLUTIONS SHOULD BE DEVELOPED WITH THESE FEATURES IN MIND

B2B OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIGITAL HEALTH SERVICES AND TOOLS
Technology, such as telemedicine platforms, have already contributed to some improvement in China’s healthcare, such as reduced
waiting time in some overcrowded hospitals and higher quality in primary care centres. But there are still significant opportunities
to use digital health products to create better accessibility and efficiency in China’s healthcare sector. This digitalization is creating
new market opportunities for both domestic and foreign companies.
New Digital Players
• Offer end-to-end solutions that have the best shot at attracting
a large user base and building the strongest loyalty
• The end-to-end solution must be seamless and cover all needs,
for example, from the patient’s search for a good physician to
appointment booking to remote management of patient care.
• A key step in developing end-to-end offerings: securing scarce
resources such as partnerships with hospitals and physicians.
• New players can also provide big-data analytics on health
outcomes—new services that will be extremely valuable to
pharmaceutical companies.
• Large domestic players are establishing presence and have wide-
reaching connections so are best placed to achieve this - Finnish
companies could look to work with them.
Pharmaceutical and Medtech Companies
Here the opportunity in digital healthcare is concentrated in four
areas:
• Improve sales and marketing efficiency: Move beyond the
traditional sales model by using digital technologies to reach
more physicians at the same or lower cost. Many companies in
this area are already running pilots.
• Ecommerce: As the Chinese government begins to allow
consumers to buy prescription drugs online, companies need to
follow. Establish partnerships with online pharmacies that have
built-in ecommerce capabilities.
• Patient management: Develop new services in partnership with
companies that provide mobile diagnostics, physician-and-
patient communication services, and continuous patient-
monitoring options. These offerings can improve patient
outcomes, in part by ensuring that more people adhere to their
prescription drug regimens.
• Generate new insights based on big data: Data on patient
treatment and outcomes, for example, can help determine the
value of individual prescription drugs. That information can
provide the basis for making decisions on pricing and on
acquisitions and divestments within the product portfolio. Big
data will also be a powerful tool for improving R&D productivity.
Examples of digital integration:
• Software embedded in an ultrasound device, for example,
could provide more guidance on using the machine and
interpreting results
• 3-D printing has the potential to allow local customisation and
production of devices such as hip implants.
• Tap the current data companies already generate across
devices. Pulling all that information together and mining it for
insights on how to improve health outcomes will be
extremely valuable to both medtech companies and payers.
Source: BCG, China Skinny

Distributors and Retailers
Digital healthcare—and ecommerce in particular—could make distributors and retailers
less relevant as they face a major risk of being displaced by ecommerce competitors. To
capitalize on the changes in China’s healthcare industry they will need to offer
competitive pricing, create seamless integration between their online and brick-and-
mortar operations and enhance the customer experience for patients and small retailers.
Large national players can leverage the strength of their nationwide network and logistics
infrastructure to build their own ecommerce platform. Regional distributors and strong
retailers, meanwhile, will need to establish a larger geographic footprint through mergers,
acquisitions, and partnerships. Smaller players that do not wish to or are unable to tap
into broad ecommerce platforms can explore niche areas such as specialty drugs or
consider the possibility of being acquired.
Distributors and retailers will also need new technology to help them shift their business
with the digital improvements, e.g. by streamlining logistics processes and order systems.
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, a leading distributor and retailer, is partnering with
online retailer JD to build an ecommerce platform that will allow it to sell
pharmaceuticals to consumers as well as to other pharmacies. The company is
building on its traditional strength—partnerships with hospitals—to ensure
that its ecommerce operation has access to the flow of patient prescriptions.
Partnering with JD will draw large online traffic and provide delivery directly to
patients’ homes. JD’s last-mile delivery capability complements Shanghai
Pharmaceuticals’ national logistics infrastructure. The company is also
exploring how the drug usage information it generates can be harnessed to
offer marketing insights for pharma companies.
Industry Buyers
For buyers, digital healthcare creates an opening to
move beyond being simply the bearer of costs to
become an effective manager of healthcare benefits.
Digital tools can be used to develop online diagnosis and
treatment options, offerings that will help to increase
the customer base in the near term. Buyers can use big-
data tools to evaluate claims data; those analyses can
lead to better pricing and targeted product offerings.
Buyers can also use big-data analysis of outcomes to
identify which drugs and medical procedures are most
effective for specific conditions. This will allow them to
create attractive patient-management programs for
customers, especially large employers. For example,
Insurer PingAn has hired approximately 300 general
practitioners to offer digital diagnosis and treatment
services to the company’s insured population.
Source: BCG
Private Hospitals
Private Hospitals are noted throughout this report as the
lowest hanging fruit for Finnish companies. With an
abundance of investment in the sector, the increased
willingness to embrace foreign tech, the lower
bureaucratic barriers, ability to spend and diversified
offerings, private hospitals offer great B2B opportunities.

Mindray Medical International, located in Shenzhen, is one of the
world's biggest providers of medical devices and solution in the
fields of Patient Monitoring & Life Support, In-Vitro Diagnostics, and
Medical Imaging. Inspired by the needs of the patients, the company
adopts advanced technologies and transform them into accessible
innovation. Mindray has built a global R&D network with research
centers in Seattle, New Jersey, Shenzhen, Beijing, Nanjing Chengdu
and Xi’an. Mindray spends around 10% of its sales income each year
on R&D.
Medical Devices
As a producer of medical devices and equipment this category is most aligned
with Finnish interests. As noted in the political factors section this category is
earmarked for a huge surge toward domestic production.
Alongside the government’s projected goals for dominance of domestic high-
end medical devices and components and tax breaks for SMEs in the industry,
domestic medical device revenue is targeted for ¥535 billion by 2020 - a 20%
CAGR. This is aided by regulations (as of Jan 2017) fast-tracking approvals for
innovative equipment. Equipment with some of these features (including
foreign devices) can qualify for quick approvals in China:
• Used to diagnose or treat rare diseases
• Has “significant advantages” over existing treatments
for cancer, or chronic geriatric or pediatric illnesses
• Meet other priority clinical needs
• Are used for emergency public health incidents
• Have recognition as “innovative”
Notable & Growing Domestic Players
Beijing-based Hinacom offers advanced solutions such as integrated
medical 3D images, picture archiving, communications and analysis
systems as well as telemedicine diagnosis and conference platforms.
Integrating Hinacom into hospitals, doctors profit from a fast and
stable database to find a patient’s medical history and make more
reliable diagnosis. With the possibility to connect a number of
hospitals, the company’s telemedicine technology is now used to
discuss treatments and diagnoses across specialist departments,
which is available in Beijing, Malaysia and the U.S.
Due to the hugely advantageous conditions for Chinese producers, working
with them to provide solutions or components is likely to be a B2B
opportunity for Finland.
Aged Care
These companies show signs of the growth China desires in its goal to
have “5 world class” medical device producers by 2020.
Undersupply of Staff &
Education
Not only does China need an
estimated increase of 9 million
aged care staff over the next five
years but they need to be
adequately trained. Programs or
technology easing the burden on
effectively training workers and
simplifying processes is a huge
need.
Non-Acute Solutions
Explored elsewhere, a
massive movement in solving
the booming ageing
population is moving
treatment out of tertiary
hospitals. Solutions to
monitor elderly in the home
or in aged care facilities are
much needed.

HEALTHCARE REGULATORY CHANGES & DIGITAL INTEGRATIONS
• Since 2006, China has been implementing a hierarchical medical
system, to encourage consumers to seek medical attention in
primary health centres (PHC). It is not yet yielding results with PHCs
receiving 55.4% of outpatients in 2016 (-1% yoy). Meanwhile the
percentage of patients going to tertiary hospitals continues to grow.
• The "Beijing Home Care Services Regulations" was introduced in
2016, incentivising enterprises and social organisations to actively
participate in home care services.
• In 2017, China National Health and Family Planning (NHFPC) set a
goal to extend family doctor services to 85% of Chinese cities (i.e.
30% of the urban population and 60% of priority groups such as
elderly, pregnant women and patients with chronic diseases).
• Health care services are now interwoven with internet industries,
requiring the following documents and licensing qualifications:
• Internet Drug Information Service License
• Internet Drug Trading Service License
• Internet Healthcare Information Service License
• There are 36 internet hospitals in China, among which 25 can be
connected by PC or APP and 11 are being established. 19 are joint
ventures of an internet company, local government and offline
medical institutions, like AliHealth and WeDoctor.
General stages of service development of internet hospitals:
1. Online registration service
2. Consultation, subscription
3. Internet hospitals, telemedicine
Please see the following page for more information on WeDoctor and page
24 for health-related apps.
Extending family doctor services via digital solutions such as
telemedicine (see page 30) and B2B medical platforms is likely
to see increased demand in the future. With the prospect of a
soon-to-be-established electronic medical record system in
China, the effective transmission of patients’ records is
needed. Digital services might further simplify this, e.g. if a
rural family doctor could use a B2B online platform to send
patient data and images directly to colleagues in bigger
hospitals for diagnosis and action recommendations.
Source: China Health Systems in Transition, Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Beijing Government
In addition to targeting businesses, China’s consumer healthcare space offers a number of opportunities for Finnish technologies. Changing
regulations around internet hospitals ensure a safer and more reliable service and along with the need for better service quality in medical care,
patients increasingly turn to digital solutions. While millennials actively seek and use these innovations, the elderly segment is relatively
untapped due to low online penetration rates, presenting opportunities and challenges for Finnish companies.

WEDOCTOR & INTEGRATION IN CHINA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Founded in 2010 WeDoctor is a platform for online medical services, allowing patients to go through the entire process at home
from online appointments, video consultations and diagnosis to e-prescriptions. WeDoctor opened their first online hospital in
Wuzhen in December 2015 where patients can also make e-payments and have the medicine delivered to their home. WeDoctor
has significant funding and support from WeChat’s parent company Tencent.
Connecting digital files with hospitals
WeDoctor is playing a dominant role in connecting patients
and hospitals digitally. It has covered 18 provinces in the form
of Internet hospitals and has reached and connected 2,400
hospitals in 29 cities. Through WeDoctor electronic medical
records are possible to be shared in Internet hospitals among
areas like Sichuan, Gansu and Shanghai. WeDoctor has also
collaborated with online pharmacy jinxiang.com to provide a
medicine delivery system.
Collaboration among hospitals and pharmacies
In March 2016 WeDoctor launched a collaboration between Internet
hospitals and pharmacies. This is aimed to help pharmacies evolve
from simply selling medicine to a clinic that can diagnose as well as sell
medicine. WeDoctor aims to establish 1 million points that can receive
diagnosis and treatment, covering 900,000 primary medical services,
460,000 retail pharmacies and 100,000 community health centres. As
of October 2016 over 10,000 pharmacies have joined the project
including leading pharmacies like LBX pharmacy, Yixintang, Yikang
Medicine and GuoDa Drugstore. By March 2017, up to 26,000 patients
were able to receive diagnosis every day.
Big data and WeDoctor
In order to incorporate big data, WeDoctor helps improve services of residents’ health card in Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces, for which the Health
and Family Planning Commission (HFPC) of Sichuan singed an agreement with WeDoctor in October 2016. The National HFPC plans for the whole
country to have their individual card by 2020. To encourage usage of the card some provinces such as Henan province along with 15 hospitals have
offered more favorable prices for health card users.
Source: Guahao, Tencent, NHFPC, VCBeat Research
Finnish B2C solutions would be wise to integrate with well-known and widely used platforms like
WeChat and Alibaba. Partnering with or targeting Tencent, Alibaba or other established internet
companies in China could be beneficial in order to gain traction and promote Finnish technologies.

• Online drug sales are key in driving revenue for online health platforms. After
initiating pilot programs on ecommerce platforms, regulators banned free
practice, requiring (on page 21) licenses since 2016. Alibaba’s health platform
showcases the damage to investors: €11.4 million of losses to March 2015 that
mounted to €26 million in 2016.
• 2016 H2 investment in China’s digital health industry declined by 41%
• A NHFPC article from April 2017 proposed that internet-based healthcare
should not be applied to receive initial diagnosis and treatment. Also, upon any
changes of a disease, the online diagnosis and treatment should stop
immediately and patients should be guided to physical healthcare institutions.
• May 2017 saw many interested parties meet to discuss the impending
regulations which will further tighten the operations of internet hospitals.
Proposed regulations will enforce internet hospitals to have offline
establishments where online treatment and monitoring can only be conducted
after a physical visit.
• Names such as “Internet hospitals”, “Cloud hospitals” and “Online hospitals”
could also be banned from use.
• Some platforms, like WeDoctor (on page 22), are well set for this change, with a
planned 100 integrated offline hospitals by 2020. For others, the costs may be
too large to handle.
• A notable reason why the digital health sector may struggle is the current
reluctance from insurers willing to work with these internet platforms in a
system powered by state-run hospitals and social insurance.
ONLINE HEALTH: A BUMP IN THE ROAD
CONSUMERS VS. REGULATIONS: ONLINE GENETIC TESTING
China aims to be the world leader in genetic screening and providing
solutions for preventing diseases, leading to a growth in companies
and startups in the space. Targeting mainly B2B customers, initiatives
addressing consumers include online solutions such as the WeChat
toolkit by Wegene that can be purchased and evaluated for ￥999.
Finnish businesses should aim to facilitate the development of
applications for hospitals and other medical institutions by providing
solutions that are easy to integrate with Chinese systems. Catering to
the online regulations and maintaining the dialogue with patients are
among the biggest challenges for medical professionals. Increasing
efficiencies and creating a link between patients and doctors will help
in medical applications being more accepted by elderly and their
children.
Offered through a Key
Opinion Leader (KOL) account
with 10% discount, users
were especially interested in
purchasing the test for their
parents to detect diseases
and organ dysfunctions.
Targeting China’s tech companies such as Alibaba and Tencent might yield
opportunities for Finnish businesses as they typically have large cash
reserves, can generate scale and are more open to foreign technologies.
Source: Fosun Group. Alibaba, Wegene, China Skinny

24 Future Watch: China Health Care and Opportunities Report, June 2017
Alipay Medical Service
Launched 2017
Linked to 1,500 hospitals
Users: 300 million
ChunYuYisheng
Launched 2015
Users: 65 million
Registered doctors: 200,000
Weiyi
Launched 2015
Linked to 2,400 hospitals in 29 provinces
Users: 150 million
Medical experts: 260,000
HaodaifuZaixian
Launched 2006
Dingxiangyisheng
Launched 2012
China’s health-related apps offer services from free or fee-based medical consultations, doctor appointments, personal health management,
to health tips and more. These apps have peculiarities that distinguish them from other app markets such as being integrated into WeChat
and stricter government regulations. Below are popular health-related apps in China who offer special services such as Alipay Medical Service
who aims to realise a cash-free medical service system by integrating insurance cards with Alipay. The awareness of the digitalisation of
medical services is increasing, with user bases of these apps rising steadily.
Functions
Hospital reservation F C C
Online Diagnosis C C C C C
Online Pharmacy C C
Medicine Delivery C S
Prescription Medicine C S S
Forum F F F
Explanations of X-Ray, CT Scans etc. C C
Digital medical insurance card F/S
Organ Donation F
Private insurance C/S
Health Check Reservation C/S
Vaccination Service C
Identity Verification F
Health Enquiries F
Hospital, Pharmacy or Doctor Search F F F
Overseas medical service C/S
Self Diagnosis Help F
Home Doctor C/S
C – Charged Service
F – Free Service
S – App Specialty (not easily
available with other apps)
HEALTH-RELATED MOBILE APPLICATIONS

CHINA’S ELDERLY &
HEALTHCARE

Millennials
Seniors
UNDERSTANDING THE CHINA MARKET
Finnish products that touch the end user should be aware of the challenges to digitally engage elderly at this stage. Elderly-focused
products and services targeting hospitals, health service providers or professionals (B2B) are more likely to show higher adoption.
Technologies might also aim to appeal to millennials who are much more open to trying out new solutions from Europe and likely to
encourage their parents or grandparents to use an innovation that might help maintain their health or screen diseases.
Opposed to the West where Baby Boomers are the affluent consumer segment, in
China it is the Millennial group with the highest incomes and willingness to spend.
Chinese millennials travel more internationally and are highly influenced by online
channels, using these to support their parents and grandparents. China’s high
digital engagement is being driven by Millennials, with those born after 1980
accounting for around 80% of online shoppers and WeChat users.
New technologies are likely to be adopted and recommended by this group rather
than seniors directly.
Elder Chinese disproportionately live in rural areas compared with younger
Chinese. Villagers earn incomes are less than a third of those in cities and spend is
less than a fifth. For Chinese elderly living in more urban areas they often live
together with their children, caring for their grandchild while parents are at work.
In order to maintain their health and mobility, many seniors meet for activities in
parks or plazas. Being more nationalistic than their children, foreign products are
often accepted only upon recommendation or frequent usage and seldom explored
by themselves. Additionally seniors are less digitally inclined than their younger
counterparts although they are using digital services more especially when a child
or younger acquaintance shows them how.
Source: China Skinny

Chinese seek to enjoy their free time, reduce
stress and pursue their vision of an ideal life when
retiring.
27
73%
66%
66%
66%
66%
64%
Enjoy life with family
Exercise to stay healthy
Take more time for oneself
Financial independency
Have stable incomes to maintain living standards
Do whatever they feel like (e.g. travelling)
Chinese life plans after being retired
59%
27%
9%
5%
Retire as
planned
Retire
early
Retire
late
Haven't
thought
about it
yet
Retirement plans of
Chinese consumers
Source: National Bureau of Statistic, Citi Bank, AIA

28
• China’s senior population (>60 years) equals 230.9 million.
• The one child policy and longer life expectancies have led to China rapidly developing into an
ageing population. The proportion of elderly will rise from 10% to 20% over a 20 year period.
This compares to countries like Germany or Sweden where the transition took 61 and 64 years
respectively.
• Private pension ratio accounts for only 4% of China’s GDP compared to 76% in Sweden and 209%
in Denmark.
• Filial piety is a core value of Chinese society and parents often live with their child taking care of
their grandchild. Other times parents stay in rural areas while their child moves to an urban
area for work. In this case the child may support the parents financially. However, this is clashing
with the traditional expectations of the child caring for their elderly parents not only financially,
but also emotionally and socially. With children living far away in cities, suicide rates increase
due to solitude, especially in rural areas.
• China’s traditionally high saving rates are particularly relevant amongst older demographics,
with to provide for health being the top reason.
• 5% of seniors actively wish to move into elderly homes while around 70% would understand if
their children sent them to a rest home, showing great market potential.
• The current system encounters a shortage of aged care facilities, despite a total of 28,000
institutions at the end of 2016. Only 26 beds in elderly homes can be supplied per 1,000 seniors
– resulting in a shortage of 3.2 million beds according to the current demand in China.
• The Chinese government encourages social funding to dedicate more resources to the ageing
care sector and supports the establishment of joint ventures and partnerships.
• Younger Chinese might welcome digital solutions and integrations to monitor their parents’
health and wellbeing.
养儿防老
'raising a child is an
insurance for old age'
Pensions are not a certainty in
China. Many elder Chinese do
not have pensions as they did
agricultural work or their own
business when young, not to
mention experienced unstable
times in China.
They most likely need financial
help, especially among rural
elders, most likely coming
from their children.
SNAPSHOT OF THE AGEING SOCIETY IN CHINA
Source: United Nations, Rentu Consulting

Future Watch: hina Health Care and Opportunities Report, June 2017
REACTION & FEEDBACK ON CHINA’S AGEING SOCIETY
• Though developing fast, China’s aged care system has serious
problems like barriers between professionals and institutions,
inefficient combinations of medical services and poor pension
services.
• Extending healthcare to 95% of the population has increased the
demand for consultation resulting in long lines from early morning
to closing. Satisfaction is low as not everybody gets through the
lines and for those who do the system often struggles to deliver
excellent service. Contempt is then often taken out on the doctors.
• Patients aged 45-55 and located in tier-1 cities or provincial
capitals show the greatest dissatisfaction with long waiting times
in hospitals (see pages 5-6 for more details).
• A further growth in a population needing care will further strain
the system, but no organised long-term care or home healthcare
systems exist.
29
More attention is being paid to taking care of
China’s elderly and the burden on young
Chinese.
Starbucks extended its healthcare plan to
employees’ parents in 2017. The new
coverage is designed to supplement China’s
national health plan, and is an outgrowth of a
broader program the company launched in
2010 to provide financial assistance to its
workers. An analysis of data from that
program showed that 70% of employees were
concerned about the health of their parents
as they aged. Beginning June, 2017 the
‘Starbucks China Parent Care Program’ is
expected to benefit more than 10,000 parents
of Starbucks' employees in China.
Rather than relying on the Government’s response, Finnish technologies could liaise with and provide their services as well as
coordination for Chinese businesses. With healthcare packages increasingly becoming a point of difference, businesses who are
not health-focused might also seek solutions to assist their employees.
Source: Starbucks, China Ministry of Health

DIGITAL INTEGRATIONS IN AGED CARE
With China’s ageing population accounting for 230.9 million and being expected to grow to 329 million by 2050, institutions are more
challenged than ever to serve increasing medical needs. According to the China Ministry of Health, 70% of elders aged 60+ suffer from at least
one chronic disease which require more healthcare, but have no acute needs for visiting a hospital. Technologies integrated in homes to
measure movements, blood levels or remind a senior of taking their medicine could shape the China market in the near future. Children living
in cities are additionally looking for possibilities to monitor their parents’ health while being away. Digital solutions are currently tapping into
the space where the demand for smart wearables, telemedicine systems and smart management systems for chronic diseases is growing.
Telemedicine
• Increases access to distance care,
health education and counselling in
remote areas
• Could reduce the costs and time for
elderly to access healthcare
• eHealth solutions such as independent
5G end-to-end system provides high-
speed and low-latency access to
telemedicine application
• Potential to reduce shortage of medical
and health resources in physical
institutions
Smart Management
• Potential to provide real-time updates
on a patient’s chronic condition
through apps on smartphones or
wearables
• Health management apps
increasingly part of consumers’ lives
(e.g. step tracker, calorie counter,
sports planning, health games etc.)
• Problem:
• Requires patient’s active self-
management (& education)
• Apps often not fit for elderly
(too many choices, too much
text, small font etc.)
30
Smart Wearables
• Can collect big data for the
healthcare sector
• Potential to monitor & prevent
diseases, chronic conditions and
therapies
• Potential to be used for
electrotherapy, magnetic therapy or
ultrasound
• Problems:
• Most devices are limited to
data collection and storage
rather than analysis
• Shortage of aged care
professionals in China who
are able to evaluate the data
Source: China Ministry of Health, World Bank, China Skinny

OPPORTUNITIES FOR
FINNISH COMPANIES

KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Private hospitals generally aim for higher standards, have less budgetary
constraints and less bureaucracy for decision making and are likely to be the
lowest hanging fruit for Finnish health brands.
• Inefficiencies in China’s healthcare sector often originate from the uneven
distribution throughout hospital segments as patients don’t trust the
expertise of lower tier facilities.
• Uncertainties and insufficient information about qualified doctors, treatments
as well as inconvenient visit arrangements and waiting times in hospitals are
vast areas of improvement where Finnish technologies could tap in.
• Elderly-focused products and services targeting hospitals and health service
providers workers (B2B) have great potential in an increasing ageing
population.
• China’s tech companies involved in health such as Alibaba and Tencent are
suitable targets for Finnish companies as they typically have large cash
reserves, are more open to foreign technologies and have scale.
• Expand on elderly parents living in villages, with kids living in cities, further
reinforcing the need for monitoring health and well-being as way to care for
parents. This might also offer possibilities for children to skirt around
regulations that obligate parent care and therefore be attractive.
• Smartphone apps with widespread micropayment acceptance are a great way
to monetise solutions.
WHILE DIGITALISATION IS
UNDERWAY IN CHINA’S
HEALTH AND AGED CARE
SYSTEMS, FINNISH BUSINESSES
SHOULD BE AWARE OF
DOMINANT DOMESTIC
PLAYERS THAT MIGHT CATCH
UP ON EXPERTISE AND
DELIVERY QUICKLY. ENSURE TO
PARTNER WITH RELIABLE AND
STRONG BUSINESSES WHERE
RELEVANT.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FINNISH COMPANIES IN CHINA
…in the B2B space:
Facilitating Information Access
Providing solutions that enable doctors to
consult with experts and knowledgeable
colleagues in other areas will increase the
quality standards in healthcare and reduce
costs for patients and hospitals. This might
also relieve public hospitals from the current
overflow of patients, improving service levels
and customer satisfaction. While this might
be interesting for rural areas, domestic
solutions are more likely to fulfill their needs
with lower budgets. Private hospitals and
local tech companies are the lowest hanging
fruit for integrating Finnish products.
Opportunities for Finnish innovations such as
Claned Group Oy or smart spaces in hospitals
and nursing homes to improve and initiate an
ongoing learning process among professionals.
In addition, initiatives like Kainuu, Satakunta,
Abomics Oy, MediSapiens Oy and Blueprint
Genetics Oy help streamline the information
process, providing access to data and enable
healthcare specialists to react quicker if a
patient’s condition changes.
Fulfilment & Equipment
Treatments and access to medical equipment
can be complemented by digital tools. Busy
hospitals might value improved workflows and
logistics, increasing convenience and an
ongoing dialogue when treating chronic
diseases. Especially older and less mobile
patients will benefit from innovations in the
space. Although Beijing is in favour of
developing indigenous solutions for big data
and patient databases, there are opportunities
for Finnish companies who provide additional
solutions that increase efficiencies and
accuracies.
Programs like Fast ROI Oy, Satakunta or
FirstBeat help improving work-flows and
efficiencies through house calls, data
collection and analysis. Improving logistics
processes is likely to resonate well with bigger
hospitals and those who have limited
resources.
Initiatives like the Oulu research project in
elderly homes will lead to higher satisfaction
rates and help homes to cope better with
budget constraints.
Medical Tourism
Partnering with China’s new specialist centres,
e.g. in Sanya (see page 15) bears opportunities
to establish Finnish technologies among the
most innovative medical institutions, setting
standards for high-quality facilities. Wearable
devices offer great tools to monitor progresses
during a stay but also once the patient returned
home. Domestic medical tourism and integrated
solutions are likely to target affluent older
Chinese who might not be fit for long distance
flights, but are still ready to pay a premium for
advanced medical solutions.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FINNISH COMPANIES IN CHINA
…in the B2C space:
Apps & Smartphone Tech
With 95% of Chinese accessing the
internet via mobile devices, tech
innovations targeting consumers
should optimise their solutions. Digital
adoption is lower among elderly, but
rising for easy and convenient tools.
Understanding diagnoses, tests,
treatments and communicating on a
frequent basis with a healthcare
professional are main concerns for
aged patients with chronic diseases.
Offerings like NetMedi Oy, FirstBeat, and smart
spaces in nursing homes or hospitals can help
patients understand and track their conditions
without having to consult a doctor every time.
Wearables like PulseOn Oy and Medieta Oy can
complement this by tracking real-time changes
and warning the owner if any measurements
fall outside the norm.
Ensure to protect all innovations introduced on
the China market, as domestic operators are
nimble to copy or improve a product quickly.
Wearables
Mostly used as health monitors and
fitness trackers, being up to date of their
parents’ health is important to many
millennials living in cities. Utilising
wearables to track their parents’ well-
being and providing digital aid might
prove valuable to fulfill their traditional
and legal obligations towards caring for
the family’s elderly. Staying active and
maintaining their health is considered
important across all age groups.
Cuckoo workout, big data collection and
analysis (e.g. based on self-inserted
information cross-matched with a database)
might find opportunities in the Chinese
consumer space through comprehensive and
motivational applications to become and stay
active. All technologies introduced to the
China market should be compatible with local
systems and integrated into e.g. WeChat to
enable convenient adoption by consumers.
Additional Innovations
Interactive spaces, green care nursing
homes and smart spaces might shape
China’s innovative healthcare and ageing
society. With younger Chinese generally
being more receptive to foreign
technologies, these should be considered
an indirect target market for reaching
elderly. Connecting with their children and
doctors will be another motivation for
adopting digital solutions as many elderly
feel isolated.

Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation
Porkkalankatu 1, Helsinki➦
Post address
P.O.Box 69
FI-00101 Helsinki
Sari Arho Havren
+85 26 895 5221

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