JD Health - Building a Full Ecosystem of Health Care and

Health Management for China

Abstract
JD Health, the healthcare subsidiary of JD.com, entered the health industry by
launching a pharmaceutical e-commerce business. It started by selling healthcare
products online for the first time in 2013. In January 2016, JD Health started a platform
for third-party pharmaceutical retail businesses and also opened JD Pharmacy, a first-
party pharmaceutical business model, the same year. JD Health started independent
operations in May 2019, aiming to build the most comprehensive ‘internet + healthcare’
ecosystem in the industry to give people easier access to better healthcare, no matter
what their geographical location. The company offered pharmaceutical drugs and
healthcare products on its platform, both as a marketplace that connected merchants to
consumers and as a first-party, or 1P, direct retailer. It also offered online consultation
with real life doctors and separately partnered with offline pharmacies that could
provide location-based 24/7delivery as part of an omnichannel initiative to complement
its core e-commerce business. Its closest competitors were Alibaba Health, Ping a Good
Doctor, and Meituan for its e-commerce business. The company had high ambitions, its
goal being to create a full ecosystem of healthcare and health management for the
most populous country in the world. Experts wondered whether JD Health would, in
fact, become the leading online healthcare provider in China.

Issues
The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

 Evaluate the healthcare and health-tech eco system in China.

 Analyze how leading healthcare companies in China were growing their business.
 Examine the approach taken by healthcare companies to digitalize healthcare in
China.
 Understand how healthcare trends create a force multiplier to ignite digital
transformation.
 Learn to design a healthcare ecosystem for comprehensive health management.

Introduction
On September 5, 2022, the online pharmaceutical consulting service of JD Health, e-
commerce company JD.com’s healthcare subsidiary, was chosen for an award by a
committee of the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing for
being an excellent demonstration case in the country’s service industry. JD Health
launched the service, named the Pharmacy Clinic, in June 2022. The service connected
licensed pharmacists with clinical experience with patients through the internet. Based
on each patient’s condition, the pharmacists provided medicine evaluation and
customized adjustment plans, followed up on their medicine use, and offered
pharmaceutical advice and more. Thus, they provided patients with a one-stop
medication service solution outside of offline doctor’s visits.

Online Healthcare In China

To solve the dilemma caused by the rising demand for medical care and the
inaccessibility of medical services, the Chinese government came out with wide-ranging
policies, such as the incorporation of online medical services, to empower internet
hospitals and thereby addressed public health emergencies. Further, China was
promoting an innovation-friendly environment which included better regulatory,
Intellectual property (IP), and reimbursement conditions.

Early Evolution of JD Health

JD.com forayed into the health industry by starting a pharmaceutical e-commerce
business. It started the business by selling healthcare products online for the first time
in the year 2013, marking an official step into the pharmaceutical retail business..

JD Health: Building The Healthcare Ecosystem

About 72.5 million people had made at least one purchase through JD Health’s platform
by 2020. Although Alibaba Health generated less revenue, the platform enjoyed a
larger user base due to Alibaba’s extensive ecosystem. In the year ended June 2020..

JD Health: Growth and Consolidation

JD Health had become the largest online healthcare platform in China by 2019,
according to a report by Frost&Sullivan, a Silicon Valley-based research and consulting
firm. As on September 30, 2020, the platform had over 65,000 doctors, including full-
time doctors, who provided an average of over 90,000 medical consultations online on
a daily basis. In the first half of 2020, the number of daily medical consultations on the
platform was five times that of the same period in 2019..

Future Outlook
Although it seemed that the time for online hospitals had arrived and online medical
care and AI technology were supplementing and optimizing the traditional medical
system, online hospitals failed to really take off in China. A fundamental problem
holding back online hospitals was insurance (or the lack of it). Finally, although online
hospitals had achieved some success in integrating online and offline medical care,
online medical services in China had failed to bridge the digital divide, and patients still
overwhelmingly preferred to make use of traditional hospitals.
Exhibits
Exhibit I: The Framework of HC 2030
Exhibit II: People’s Willingness to Use Digital Health Services
Exhibit III: JD Health’s Mission, Strategic Position, Brand Concept and Vision
Exhibit IV: JD Health Business