Shanghai hospital links up with Alipay services app

Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital yesterday became the first hospital in the city to link up with the Alipay smartphone application for services and payment.

Using the app, patients can register for appointments, view their estimated time slot to see a doctor, pay and receive reports.

Yesterday morning, several hundred patients made appointments through Alipay, a hospital official said.

The registration system will share the same infrastructure as the hospital's online and offline registration platform.

Having made an appointment with the app, it can cut waiting time as patients receive an estimated time slot.

And by connecting social security or medical insurance accounts with Alipay, patients can pay for services and view medical reports on their phone.

The hospital said it is offering a registration service for more than 250,000 patients through its official website.

Alipay is the payment service of Internet e-commerce giant Alibaba.