TikTok owner ByteDance relaunches online health care apps amid restructuring

China’s online health care market is forecast to reach US$30 billion this year
ByteDance faces stiff competition, as it goes up against larger rivals such as Baidu Health, Alibaba Health, Tencent-backed WeDoctor and JD Health

Apps

Coco Fengin Beijing

Published: 10:30pm, 3 Nov 2020

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ByteDance, owner of popular short video-sharing app TikTok, has relaunched its online health care apps under the new Xiaohe platform, taking on more established services in China backed by the likes of Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings and JD.com. This move follows the restructuring of ByteDance’s education business.

Consumers on Xiaohe, which translates to “little lotus” in Chinese, can consult registered doctors online and make use of a digital medical encyclopaedia that has more than 31,800 entries. Medical consultation is free for first-time users as part of a promotion.

Also under this platform is the Xiaohe Doctor app, which provides registration and identity checks for doctors before they are authorised to connect with Xiaohe’s users.

Tech unicorn ByteDance’s efforts in online health care started roughly a year ago when it launched patient community Xiangyu. This was later rebranded as Lvsongguo, which means “green pine cone” in Chinese, for users to get medical information and take part in a forum to share their experience, according to the app’s version history on Apple’s App Store.

A doctor speaks with a patient during an online consultation at a hospital in Shenyang in China‘s northeastern Liaoning province on February 4. Photo: Getty Images

Lvsongguo was consolidated into the Xiaohe platform three weeks ago.

Xiaohe also runs a mini program on Jinri Toutiao, the news aggregator also owned by ByteDance, which allows users to access consultation services without downloading the online health care app. This mini program is operated by ByteDance subsidiary Beijing Shake Youth Technology Co.

The companies behind the Xiaohe and Xiaohe Doctor apps are Beijing Codeshake Healthcare Technology Co, owned by ByteDance executive Li Meng, and Hainan-based One Zero Two Four Online Hospital Co, owned by ByteDance executives Wu Haifeng and Sun Wenyu.

Li, Wu and Sun are former executives at online search giant Baidu, according to a report published in August by Tencent’s QQ news portal.

ByteDance did not immediately respond to emailed questions about the restructuring of its health care business under the Xiaohe brand, which some local Chinese media have reported.

ByteDance has faced regulatory challenges related to TikTok in the United States and India. Photo: AP

The Beijing-based company has faced regulatory challenges related to TikTok in the United States and India. In China, ByteDance remains a major internet player and has been moving to diversify its operations in video gaming, e-commerce and online education. Last week, the company merged all of its education initiatives under new unit Dali.

Demand for online health care services have significantly expanded in China amid the Covid-19 pandemic. At the height of the public health crisis in China earlier this year, free online consultations offered by providers helped ease the strain on local hospitals, while reassuring anxious patients.

Telemedicine is the big health care game changer to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, experts say

China’s online health care market is forecast to hit 200 billion yuan (US$30 billion) this year, up from 133.6 billion yuan in 2019, according to market research firm Analysys.

ByteDance, however, faces stiff competition in the online heath care market, as it goes up against larger rivals such as Baidu Health, Alibaba Health, WeDoctor and JD Health. Alibaba Health is the flagship health care platform of Alibaba, parent company of the South China Morning Post.

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