A patient pays the medical bills through a self-service machine at the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University in Hohhot, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Aug 15. [Photo/saibeinews]

The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University in Hohhot, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, launched an online platform Aug 15, digitally connecting people with medical services.

The service links the hospital's internal systems with popular mobile apps WeChat and Alipay.

Following the hospital's official accounts in WeChat or Alipay, users can visit the service platform to make appointments for hospital visits, check examination reports and pay medical fees.

This solution saves both patients and medical staff time by speeding up the procedures of registration and payment in the hospital.

Commonly, it takes patients have to wait two or five hours to see a doctor at the hospital.

The online platform enables patients to schedule same-day appointments or ones over the next seven days.

Instead of being placed in a long queue for appointments, patients can pick specific time slots that are convenient for them.

After registering on the platform, patients have priority in receiving treatment during their booked time slot.

The hospital also plans to open online consultation on the platform to solve patients' questions about examination results. 

In addition to the online service platform, the hospital has also set up 40 self-service devices to offer one-stop services such as patient registration.

These innovations will improve the public's healthcare experience and increase the efficiency of the hospital system, making medical care accessible to more people.