Technology Empowers Ping An's Health Care Amid Coronavirus
Jessica Tan, Co-CEO of Ping An Insurance, spoke at the 2020 MIT Platform Strategy Summit on how technology has advanced health care services amid the Covid-19 pandemic. She also highlighted the Group's recent health care technology breakthroughs.
“What struck us during Covid-19 is how much potential technology has to improve the accessibility, efficiency, effectiveness and affordability of health care,” said Tan, as reported by the firm in a press release.
Health care is an integral part of Ping An's ‘finance + ecosystem’ strategy. The strategy is to use technology to empower five ecosystems: financial services, health care, auto services, real estate services and smart city services. These ecosystems help the Group extend its reach to internet users beyond its core financial businesses. At the end of 2019, Ping An had more than 200 million retail customers and nearly 516 million internet users.
“Ecosystems require a merger of online and offline services and this is our competency,” commented Tan. In the health care ecosystem, Ping An has built a comprehensive model to serve online and offline patients, providers and payers through Group subsidiaries and affiliates, including Ping An Good Doctor, Ping An HealthKonnect and Ping An Smart Healthcare, which is a part of Ping An Smart City.
In her speech, Tan described the difference between Ping An from other high profile technology giants, saying: “Most internet companies started off as consumer internet businesses and grew their ecosystem centered around their own consumers. We started off as a financial services company and used technology to empower five ecosystems. We see ourselves as an enabler, so our ecosystems are more open.”
“Our philosophy is very different. We not only built our own flagship where we became the largest online health care provider, but we also care about the other health care institutions and commit to using our experience, knowledge as well as technology to enable them to do better,” she continued.
Looking ahead to 2021, Tan said: “We remain cautiously optimistic that we will recover and be in a stronger position. China, relative to the rest of Asia, has gone through the virus a bit earlier and it has resumed business as much as possible. Covid-19 has spurred the adoption of online health care services by customers, businesses and regulators because they saw the necessity of doing so, and that has spurred us to provide better digital health care services to our clients.”
Recommended news