Nursed to health on home turf

Ding of Goldnurse says he is encouraged by the guidance, which he says reflects the government's attention to the challenge of home-based care.

"With home-based care, the service receivers are scattered. The internet can play an important role in allocating nursing resources and providing one-on-one care that hospitals can't provide."

He is calling on the government to consider including costs of home care in the national medical insurance system and long-term care insurance, which would make such services affordable to more people.

Safety has also been a much discussed issue relating to the industry. However, Ding says this issue should not be exaggerated.

Goldnurse has set up a center to manage service safety and to quality control, he says.

"Home-based care is a medical activity after all, so quality control is extremely important."

The credentials of nurses who want to work with Goldnurse are verified when they register, he says, and work is underway to help the platform better control quality and reduce risks.

Three important steps - evaluating patients' conditions, making care plans and dispatching nurses - are done by the company's experienced full-time nurses, and records of care and of feedback are kept, he says.

"Initially the platform was just an intermediary. Now we're involved in the whole care process and much more deeply."

The platform alleviates safety concerns on the nurses' side by standardizing procedures, such as evaluating patients and avoiding high-risk tasks, and ensuring that nurses are covered by insurance whenever they perform their duties.

Technologies such as automatic alarms are also used.