More healthcare stakeholders in China are contributing to the government's vision to make smart Chinese medicine popular and standardised.

In December, the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and China Resources Research Institute of Science and Technology, a subsidiary of consumer goods conglomerate China Resources Enterprise (CR Enterprise), entered into an R&D agreement to establish the CR-BU Joint Innovation Centre on Smart Chinese Medicine.

The centre, which seeks to promote Chinese medicine, will serve as a "hub for cutting-edge research, innovation and collaboration in Chinese medicine." It is now focused on delivering its first project, a chronic disease management system.

Based on a press statement, the chronic disease management system will comprehensively track a patient's medical journey and enable functions for follow-up care and long-term health management. It will also provide medical practitioners access to extensive patient medical histories, which will further inform their treatment plans. Additionally, the system can help accelerate scientific discoveries by providing researchers with an "invaluable" pool of tracked data, including the analysis of treatment effectiveness and responses to medical interventions. 

Besides chronic disease management, HKBU and CR Enterprise are also looking to conduct research on AI and big data in Chinese medicine. 

WHY IT MATTERS

HKBU and CR Enterprise's joint research centre adds to the efforts in developing smart Chinese medicine, its standardisation and internationalisation. The Chinese government is focusing on smart hospital construction to meet the perceived increase in healthcare services demand over the coming years. It has identified the three core tenets, or "trinity," of smart hospital development, which includes smart medicine. 

THE LARGER CONTEXT

As of 2021, nearly 60 billion yuan ($9 billion) were invested in smart medicine in China. On its end, the Chinese government is targeting a 7% annual growth in R&D expenditure, giving a particular emphasis on AI, as part of its latest Five Year Plan (2021-2025). Research by McKinsey predicted around $5 billion in economic contribution from the use of medical imaging AI to support clinical decisions and predict outcomes. 

The Five Year Plan also prioritises enhancing the digital capabilities of grassroots-level health and medicine bodies for disease prevention and treatment and promoting the integration of Chinese medicine with the Internet. 

One of the ongoing digital public service projects under the plan is the construction of the Chinese Medicine Hospital Health Information Platform. The Chinese government is also currently building "uniform, interconnected, and shared" health information platforms. 

There are also projects for enhancing the informatisation of Chinese medicine at the grassroots, as well as exploring the use of AI in drug R&D, smart bed occupancy, and diagnosis, among others. 

Meanwhile, in the realm of personalised medicine, SinoUnited Health, a medical service chain in Shanghai, has also developed its data-driven chronic disease management platform, which allows doctors to craft more targeted and individualised management plans for their patients. It includes wearable devices, a central monitoring platform, and a multidisciplinary care team. 

ON THE RECORD

"[T]he establishment of the CR-BU Joint Innovation Centre on Smart Chinese Medicine today marks a significant step for our collaborative efforts in propelling the development of Chinese medicine. Our first project, the Chronic Disease Management System, can be adopted by other areas of disease management and treatment in the future. Through continuous technological innovation and advancement, the tradition of Chinese medicine can truly integrate into modern life, creating [a] greater impact [on] human health," said Professor Alexander Wai, HKBU president and vice-chancellor.

"We will jointly explore the new model and new direction of smart Chinese medicine to combine the diversified industrial advantages of CR Group and the high-level Chinese medicine resources of HKBU. The collaboration aims to achieve a synergy of 1+1>2 and to position the Joint Innovation Centre as a platform of smart Chinese medicine with international influence, making [a] greater contribution to the promotion of smart Chinese medicine and its modernisation," added Wang Xiangming, director-general of the Education and Technology Department under the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong.