Ningbo implements mobile payment in medical care

A mobile payment system became available in Ningbo's medical care sector on Nov 3, ushering in a more convenient era for medical treatment.

The Affiliated Hospital of the Medical College of Ningbo University and Ningbo No 2 Hospital are the two pilot sites for mobile payment. At these locations medical costs will be deducted from the patients' private medical insurance accounts and the linked bank accounts once they confirm the doctors' prescriptions and charges by phone.

The whole process is made possible on the basis of Ningbo's intelligent supervision platform for health care. The platform, using new technologies like big data and cloud computing, connects mobile payment systems with medical care. As long as people validate the mobile payment function, they can enjoy it when going to see their doctor.

It is expected to alleviate the problems that patients experience in hospitals, such as long waits and short treatment times. Efficiency is the biggest advantage and it will highly improve the services hospitals can offer.

Chen Ying, deputy director of the city's social security bureau, said that in the near future government departments will future promote intelligent medical care by enabling mobile payment in more and more hospitals and pharmacies.