Background Virtual hospital apps are mobile apps that offer functionalities of online consultation, medical guidance, health community forums, referrals, outpatient appointments or virtual hospital-to-home care services. With an increasing number of online medical and health care consulting services, virtual hospital apps have made health care more accessible and fairer for all, especially in China. However, they have occurred without control or regulation. User evaluation can provide directions to help apps optimize identification, lower risks, and guarantee service quality. Objective We aimed to conduct a systematic search for virtual hospital apps in China. To get a global view, virtual hospital apps were assessed and characterized by means of quantitative analysis. To get a local view, we conducted a content feedback analysis to explore user requirements, expectations, and preferences. Methods A search was conducted of the most popular Apple and Android app stores in China. We characterized and verified virtual hospital apps and grouped apps according to quantification analysis. We then crawled apps and paid attention to corresponding reviews to incorporate users’ involvement, and then performed aspect-based content labeling and analysis using an inductive approach. Results A total of 239 apps were identified in the virtual hospital app markets in China, and 2686 informative corresponding reviews were analyzed. The evidence showed that usefulness and ease of use were vital facts for engagement. Users were likely to trust a consulting service with a high number of downloads. Furthermore, users expected frequently used apps with more optimization to improve virtual service. We characterized apps according to 4 key features: (1) app functionalities, including online doctor consultation, in-app purchases, tailored education, and community forums; (2) security and privacy, including user data management and user privacy; (3) health management, including health tracking, reminders, and notifications; and (4) technical aspects, including user interface and equipment connection. Conclusions Virtual hospitals relying on the mobile internet are growing rapidly. A large number of virtual hospital apps are available and accessible to a growing number of people. Evidence from this systematic search can help various types of virtual hospital models enhance virtual health care experiences, go beyond offline hospitals, and continuously meet the needs of individual end users.

BACKGROUND With an increasing number of online medical and healthcare consulting services, virtual hospital apps have made health care more accessible and fairer for all, especially in China. However, they have occurred without control or regulation. User evaluation can give directions to translate technological features into such apps optimization of identification, low risks and guaranteed service quality. OBJECTIVE We aimed to make a systematic analysis for virtual hospital apps in China. To get a global view, we assessed and characterized virtual hospital apps by means of quantitative analysis. To get a local view, we conducted a content feedback analysis to explore user requirements, expectations and preferences. METHODS We conducted a search in the most popular Apple and Android app stores in China. We characterized and verified virtual hospital apps. We grouped apps according to quantification analysis. We crawled and paid attention to corresponding reviews to incorporate users’ involvement, and then made aspect-based content labeling and analysis using an inductive approach. RESULTS A total of 239 apps were identified for virtual hospital app markets in China. 2686 informative corresponding reviews were analyzed. The evidence showed that usefulness and ease of use were vital facts for engagement. Users are likely to trust consulting service with a high number of downloads. Furthermore, users expect more frequently-used apps optimization. We characterized apps according to 4 key features. (1) App Functionalities, including online doctor consultation, in-app purchase, tailored education and community forums. (2) Security and Privacy, including user data management and user privacy. (3) Health Management, including health tracking, reminders and notifications. (4) Technical Aspects, including user interface and equipment connection. CONCLUSIONS Virtual hospitals relying on the mobile Internet are growing rapidly. A large number of virtual hospital apps are available and accessible to more people. Evidence from systematic analysis can help various types of virtual hospital models to enhance virtual health care experiences, to go beyond offline hospitals and to continuously meet the needs of individual end-users. CLINICALTRIAL