ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021
Assessment of Internet Hospitals in China During the COVID-19 Pandemic: National Cross-Sectional Data Analysis Study.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Data-Driven Healthy China Pathway: Evolution, Framework, and Global Implications of National Digital Health Strategic Planning.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- From facilitating conditions to intention to use internet hospitals among doctors: multiple mediators of perceived risk and performance expectancy.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Beyond green: how city greenspace shapes health outcomes in China.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Empathy-amplified social influence and gender-sensitive thresholds in doctors' adoption of internet hospitals: a mixed-methods study in China.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Factors Influencing Patient Satisfaction Within the Multistage Online Consultation Process in Internet Hospitals in Beijing: Empirical Analysis.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Internet healthcare in Chinese public hospitals: Towards high-quality development (1986-present).AIMS public health · 2026Review
- Bridging Policy and Practice in Telemedicine Follow-Up Identification: Multicenter Mixed Methods Study in Beijing.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
- Why did individuals seeking COVID-19 advice return to internet hospitals for follow-up in the early pandemic: Insights from machine learning.BMC public health · 2025Article
- An Internet Hospital Plus Home Nursing Model for Chronic Disease Patients: Mixed-Methods Study in Tianjin, China.JMIR nursing · 2025Article
- Chinese patients' use of online healthcare services: an empirical analysis based on Chinese Social Survey 2021 (CSS2021) data.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Using Theory-Based Frameworks to Identify Barriers and Enablers of Physicians' Telemedicine Adoption and Develop Intervention Strategies in China: Multicenter Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Consultation behaviors and factors influencing hesitation to seek medical care among local dengue patients in Guangzhou, China: a retrospective analysis.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Telemedicine in home enteral nutrition: a structured survey exploring acceptability, preferences and experiences among patients.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- A determination of patient preferences for China online outpatient follow-up clinics by using discrete choice experiment: an exploratory study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Enterprise-led internet healthcare provision in China: insights from a leading platform.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Prescribing characteristics and guideline concordance of antihypertensive western and Chinese patent medicine in Internet hospitals in China: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Evaluation and improvement of nursing undergraduates' informatics competencies using a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making model.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Service Quality and Patient Satisfaction of Internet Hospitals in China: Cross-Sectional Evaluation With the Service Quality Questionnaire.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInternet hospitals in China are being rapidly developed as an innovative approach to providing health services. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the development of internet hospitals that promote outpatient service delivery to the public via internet technologies. To date, no studies have assessed China's internet hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
objectiveThis study aimed to elucidate the characteristics of China's internet hospitals and assess the health service capacity of these hospitals.
methodsData on 711 internet hospitals were collected from official websites, the WeChat (Tencent Inc) platform, smartphone apps, and the Baidu search engine until July 16, 2020.
resultsAs of July 16, 2020, 711 internet hospitals were developed in mainland China. More than half of these internet hospitals (421/711, 59.2%) were established during 2019 (206/711, 29%) and 2020 (215/711, 30.2%). Furthermore, about one-third (215/711, 30.2%) of internet hospitals were established at the beginning of 2020 as an emergency response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The 711 internet hospitals consisted of the following 3 types of hospitals: government-oriented (42/711, 5.91%), hospital-oriented (143/711, 20.11%), and enterprise-oriented internet hospitals (526/711, 73.98%). The vast majority of internet hospitals were traditional hospitals (526/711, 74%). Nearly 46.1% (221/711) of internet hospitals requested doctors to provide health services at a specific web clinic. Most patients (224/639, 35.1%) accessed outpatient services via WeChat. Internet hospitals' consulting methods included SMS text messaging consultations involving the use of graphics (552/570, 96.8%), video consultations (248/570, 43.5%), and telephone consultations (238/570, 41.8%). The median number of available web-based doctors was 43, and the median consultation fees of fever clinics and other outpatient clinics were ¥0 (US $0) per consultation and ¥6 (US $0.93) per consultation, respectively. Internet hospitals have provided various services during the COVID-19 pandemic, including medical prescription, drug delivery, and medical insurance services.
conclusionsThe dramatic increase of internet hospitals in China has played an important role in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Internet hospitals provide different and convenient medical services for people in need.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.