Online hospitals link doctors, patients

Healthcare firms jumping on the bandwagon as new rules widen service scope

China's leading internet healthcare companies are foraying deeper into the medical service sector by establishing online hospitals, as the authorities have given them the green light to expand their service scope.

On April 25, the General Office of the State Council issued a guideline allowing internet companies to operate online hospitals, as long as they anchor their services to brick-and-mortar hospitals.