OBJECTIVES

Internet hospitals have been advocated to improve healthcare in China. However, their business model innovation has not been systematically reported. We conducted a systematic literature review to understand how business model of Internet hospitals has been developed in China.

METHODS

: Systematic review of the research articles from CNKI (in Chinese) and Web of Science (in English) with the keywords, including ‘Internet hospital’, ‘Smart hospital’, ‘On-line hospital’ and ‘Network Hospital’, was conducted.

RESULTS

: Finally, 48 research articles were included. Two main streams were identified: informatization construction; development model design. Themes highlighted in the informatization construction include: (1) smart medical; (2) smart nursing; (3) development of clinical auxiliary diagnosis; (4) application of internet of things in Internet hospital; and (5) construction of information platform (especially the system integration). Themes highlighted in the development model design include: (1) health management (especially chronic disease management); (2) medical union; (3) payment model; (4) big data; and (5) security management.

CONCLUSIONS

: While the Chinese healthcare sector expects innovative business models of Internet hospital, business model innovation of Internet hospitals is still in the stage of exploration.