Research report: Construction and application of proactive health service for discharged patients based on internet hospital platform

A proactive health management service built on an internet hospital platform provided post-discharge care for 279 patients across several specialties, and a retrospective cohort analysis linked participation with better blood glucose control and improved arm function after breast cancer surgery, according to a study published in BMC Health Services Research.

The service was organized around a team of specialized medical staff and operations staff working in a project management format. Different specialties developed their own proactive health service items, which were then applied to patients after they left hospital. By the end of September 2025, three types of specialized services had been formed: health management, chronic disease management and postoperative management. The conditions covered included breast cancer surgery, diabetes, hepatobiliary surgery, gestational diabetes, ostomy surgery and complicated wounds.

To evaluate the program, the researchers used a retrospective longitudinal cohort design. Patients who took part in the proactive health management service formed the intervention group, while patients who did not participate served as the control group. Data came from a general information sheet, a satisfaction survey, specialized rehabilitation indicators and laboratory indicators.

Patient satisfaction with the service ranged from 84.38% to 100% across the service items, indicating consistently positive evaluations among discharged patients who responded to the survey.

The clearest clinical signals came from diabetes management. Among patients in the intervention group, blood glucose declined significantly over time compared with the control group, with an estimated rate of change of −0.088 mmol/L per month (95% CI, −0.108 to −0.067; P < 0.001). Glycosylated hemoglobin also fell significantly faster in the intervention group, with a group-by-time interaction estimate of −0.661% per month (95% CI, −0.910 to −0.412; P < 0.001). These are modeled estimates from a retrospective cohort, so they describe associations over time within this program rather than effects proven by randomization.

For patients recovering from breast cancer surgery, the study examined two procedures separately: breast cancer resection combined with axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and breast cancer resection combined with axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Reductions in Quick DASH scores, a measure of upper-limb disability where larger reductions indicate better function, were greater in the intervention groups than in the control groups. The adjusted differences were −14.66 (95% CI, −17.29 to −12.03) for the SLNB group and −3.13 (95% CI, −4.79 to −1.47) for the ALND group, with P values of <0.001 and 0.002 respectively.

Shoulder recovery also favored the intervention groups. Measurements across seven dimensions of range of motion showed that shoulder mobility recovered better among intervention patients than controls for both surgical procedures. Pain, assessed with VAS scores, showed a between-group difference in reduction of −1.76 (95% CI, −2.23 to −1.30; P < 0.001) among patients who underwent SLNB.

The authors conclude that the proactive health management service built on the internet hospital platform can be applied effectively to discharged patients, that patients were satisfied with the services, and that the project can promote the formation of patients’ health behaviors and improve patient outcomes. Because the analysis is retrospective and based on patients who chose to participate versus those who did not, unmeasured differences between the groups could contribute to the observed gaps, and the findings should be read as program observations rather than randomized trial evidence. The study was registered as not applicable for a clinical trial number.

Within those limitations, the report offers a concrete model for extending hospital care beyond discharge: specialty-specific service packages, a combined medical and operations team, and structured monitoring of satisfaction, rehabilitation indicators and laboratory values through an internet hospital platform, applied across conditions ranging from diabetes to postoperative breast cancer recovery.

Subject of Research: A proactive post-discharge health management service delivered through an internet hospital platform and its evaluation in discharged patients

Article Title: Construction and application of proactive health service for discharged patients based on internet hospital platform

Article References: Ou, X., Lyu, A., Li, C., Li, J., & Chen, Y. (2026). Construction and application of proactive health service for discharged patients based on internet hospital platform. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15908-x

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-15908-x

Keywords: internet hospital, post-discharge care, health management, diabetes, breast cancer surgery, patient satisfaction, telemedicine, cohort study, rehabilitation, HbA1c, Construction, application