Chinese Health Insurance in the Digital Era: Bibliometric Study.

Background: China has entered the era of digital health care after years of reforms in the health care system. The use of digital technologies in healthcare services is rapidly increasing, indicating the onset of a new period. The reform of health insurance has also entered a new phase.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the evolution of health care insurance within the context of telemedicine and Internet Plus Healthcare (IPHC) during the digital health care era by using scientometric methods to analyze publication patterns, influential keywords, and research hot spots. It seeks to understand how health care insurance has adapted to the growing integration of IPHC and telemedicine in health care services and the implications for policy and practice.

Methods: A total of 411 high-quality studies were curated from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database in the Chinese language, scientometric analysis was conducted, and VOSviewer software was used to conduct a visualized analysis of keywords and hot spots in the literature.

Results: The number of articles in this field has increased notably from 2000 to 2022 and has increased annually based on a curve of y=0.332exp (0.4002x) with R²=0.6788. In total, 62 institutions and 811 authors have published research articles in the Chinese language in this field. This study included 290 keywords and formulated a total of 5 hot-topic clusters of "telemedicine," "IPHC," "internet hospital," "health insurance payments," and "health insurance system."

Conclusions: Studies on the application of digital technologies in health care insurance has evolved from foundational studies to a broader scope. The emergence of internet hospitals has showcased the potential for integrating IPHC services into insurance payment systems. However, this development also highlights the necessity for enhanced interregional coordination mechanisms. The reform of health insurance payment is contingent upon ongoing advancements in digital technology and increased investment in electronic medical records and primary health care services. Future efforts should focus on integrating technology with administrative systems, advancing mobile health care solutions, and ensuring interoperability among various payment systems to improve efficiency and standardize health care services.