Hospitals invest in digital future

Information technology investment in the country's hospital system will reach 65.7 billion yuan ($9.47 billion) in 2022, surging 53.5 percent from 2017 and boosting the digitalization of the Chinese medical system, an Analysys report forecasts.

"IT investment is the basis of hospital digitalization. Although related investment is growing rapidly, the investment amount is less than 1 percent of the country's medical-related spending, a far cry from the situation in developed countries. With the deepening of medical reform and the increase of medical expenditure, China's hospital digitalization will develop quickly," said Chen Qiaoshan, a medical analyst at Analysys.

The Beijing-based research consultancy's report noted that the Hospital Information System has almost achieved full coverage in China's tertiary hospitals - the largest in the country's three-tier system.