Mobile Appointment App and Streamlined Medical Service: A Successful Case from China

We study a mobile outpatient appointment application launched for Chinese hospitals. The objective is to assess the effect of information provision and a streamlined appointment process on hospital operations and the alignment of healthcare supply and demand. We document that the app increases hospital visits by 9.5% by boosting registrations by 4.8%and reducing appointment cancellations by 3.4%. The app improves the match between patient demand and hospital service by directing patients to less busy days and hospital departments more suitable to a patient’s medical conditions. Subsequent app adoptions shorten the average waiting time for booked appointments.