Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center, the largest hospital of its kind in South China, launched on Thursday a joint lab devoted to the application of artificial intelligence for building an e-hospital.

The lab starts with the development of a system for helping patients finding the right department and doctor, based on symptoms communicated through a text or voice message.

The system covers more than 500 types of diseases in women and children. During the trial operation in the past three months, it recorded a 94 percent accuracy rate in identifying the disease and a 96 percent accuracy rate in recommending the doctor.

The research of the new lab, in collaboration with Tencent Holdings and Guangdong Bestway Technology Co, will be extended to fields including smart services in return visits by patients and collecting follow-up patient information.

Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center serves more than 4 million outpatients a year. AI technology would help facilitate a more efficient and convenient medical experience for patients and improve service quality on the hospital side, said Xia Huimin, president of the center.

In the not-so-distant future, if a previous patient from the hospital does not feel well, he or she should be able to seek help from the hospital at home, powered by wearable devices, and subsequently receive medicine at home through the logistics network, said Li Qingfeng, deputy president of the center.

Last month, the State Council issued a guideline promoting the integration of healthcare across the country with the internet.