(Yicai Global) June 6 -- Chinese software firm DHC Software will invest CNY600 million (USD94 million) to set up an internet hospital in China's eastern Shandong province to enable locals to quickly consult face-to-face with nationally-eminent doctors from home.

The company has signed a cooperation agreement with the management committee of the province's Daiyue Economic Development Zone, the Beijing-based information technology service provider said yesterday.

The firm will select a local hospital of good repute as the venue for its operations and set up a nationwide web-based medical platform there that connects patients and doctors by video, text and images.

Internet giant Tencent Holdings will invest CNY1.27 billion to buy shares from the major shareholder of DHC Software and will cooperate with the latter in the fields of new technologies like cloud computing services, big data, and Internet of Things, it announced at the end of last month.

The Chinese government issued guidelines at the end of April to spur development of internet + healthcare, using such technologies as big data and artificial intelligence to optimize allocation of medical resources, innovate service models and increase service efficiency to better furnish people's health needs.

The statement offered no further details as to the virtual hospital's future business operations and profit model, however.

Editor: Ben Armour