A newly approved pilot program in Beijing will enable patients to access first-time online medical consultations for certain pediatric conditions.

The initiative, announced by the National Health Commission recently, marks a shift from current regulations that restrict online medical services to followup visits only after an initial in-person consultation.

The program, which will run through the end of this year, will be implemented by two leading pediatric hospitals in the city — Beijing Children's Hospital and the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, both affiliated with Capital Medical University.

It will cover initial online consultations in three areas — child growth and development, child nutrition and pediatric skin diseases.

According to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, appointments for initial online consultations are available since Jan 31 via the official WeChat accounts of the two hospitals. The hospitals will provide online pre-consultation assessments, virtual diagnosis and home delivery of prescribed medications.

Beijing is home to some of the country's top hospitals and attracts a large number of patients from across China. The proportion of patients from outside the city seeking medical attention in the clinical departments of leading hospitals remains particularly high.

"Internet-based medical services can overcome geographical barriers and offer patients convenient access to care," the commission said.

"Allowing initial online consultations could enable medical experts in Beijing to more efficiently leverage their expertise to treat patients from other regions, while saving them and their families the burden of long-distance travel, high transportation costs and significant time expenditure," it said.

The commission added that factors such as hospital management capacity, experience in conducting online follow-up visits, the scale and profile of nonlocal patients and physician service capacity were considered while selecting the hospitals to partake in the pilot program.

"The three specialties were chosen due to the substantial volume of nonlocal patient visits and the manageable risks associated with online diagnosis," it said.

Physicians participating in the pilot program are required to have at least three years of independent clinical experience, hold the professional title of attending physician or higher and possess no less than a year of experience in online follow-up consultations.

"They must also demonstrate strong communication skills, complete in-hospital training on online medical services and pass the corresponding assessment," the municipal health commission said.

The NHC emphasized that a guardian must be present during any initial online consultation for a child.

"If a child's condition is deemed unsuitable for remote diagnosis, the physician must immediately end the online session and refer the patient for an in-person visit," it added.

The commission also instructed local health authorities to strengthen supervision, maintain detailed records and ensure medical quality, safety and cybersecurity throughout the pilot.

Digital healthcare is developing rapidly in China. Official data shows that as of the end of 2024, the country had 3,756 internet hospitals, with 130 million online medical consultations conducted that year.

The National Healthcare Security Administration had announced in January 2025 that it had already taken steps to establish pricing guidelines for online initial consultations in preparation for a rollout.