# Health Service Early-Stage Digital Adaptation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Internet Hospitals: Qualitative Exploratory Study

## TL;DR

This study explores how traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in China are adapting to digital health services, focusing on patient targets, service offerings, and early-stage developments.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the early digital adaptation of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals and their transitional model for future digital health delivery.

## Key findings

- TCM internet hospitals target patients with follow-up visits and health management consultations.
- They offer functional services like telemedicine and TCM specialty services such as 'Tianzhi' and 'Zhiweibing'.
- These hospitals are in an early stage of digital adaptation, showing potential for reshaping TCM delivery.

## Abstract

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospitals in China are experimenting to develop internet hospitals to provide health services. To date, little is known about the characteristics of health services delivered by TCM internet hospitals.

This study aimed to investigate the health service early-stage digital adaptation of TCM internet hospitals from the aspects of target patients, value offering, and service provision.

Qualitative research combined qualitative interview and documentary research in this study. Interviews were completed with clinicians from sample TCM internet hospitals to investigate the target patients and value offerings. Documentary research was conducted to investigate the service provision. Thematic analysis was used to interpret all the materials collected.

A total of 7 TCM internet hospitals and 14 participants were included. The target patients of TCM internet hospitals were patients with subsequent visits and patients who sought consultations on health management. TCM internet hospitals were improving patients’ adherence to subsequent medical care and TCM promotion. These hospitals provided functional service (including telemedicine, telepharmacy, telenursing, web-based health consultations, and convenient service), and TCM specialty service (including “Tianzhi” [crude herb moxibustion], “Zhiweibing” [preventive treatment of disease], and poststroke rehabilitation).

TCM internet hospitals are in an early-stage digital adaptation, offering primarily basic online-offline services. While not yet fully innovative, they represent a transitional model with the potential to reshape TCM delivery. Our findings contribute high-level insights into this emerging integration and inform future development toward more structured, patient-centered digital TCM services.