YINCHUAN — Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region plans to establish the country’s first “Internet Plus Healthcare” demonstration zone, the regional government announced on July 31.

According to the plan approved by the National Health Commission, Ningxia will build a healthcare big data center in the city of Zhongwei and will set up an industrial park in Yinchuan, the regional capital, to attract healthcare enterprises.

Ningxia is committed to integrating Internet Plus with medical care to ensure more comprehensive coverage of high-quality medical resources and improve the efficiency of medical services, according to Huang Yong, deputy director of Health and Family Planning Commission of Ningxia.

Huang said that Ningxia has made significant progress in “Internet Plus Healthcare” over the past few years.

A telemedicine system has been put in place, connecting seven hospitals at the regional level, 22 hospitals at the municipal or county level, and 196 medical care institutions at township level.

China issued a guideline in April to enhance the role of Internet Plus in medical care, calling for the use of internet technologies to improve the quality of public health services.