Relying on big data technology, more people living in remote areas of Southwest China's Guizhou province can get access to online healthcare services.

Remote villagers are now able to consult doctors through video-chats in local clinics, eliminating the need to travel to a large city.

Yang Xingying, a villager of Sanbao village in Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture of Guizhou, suddenly suffered from swollen legs. Local medical clinics could not find out the cause and turned to the online hospital service system.

After online consultancy with doctors in the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Yang got a final treatment solution.

"The online treatment saved me both time and money," said Yang.

According to statistics, there are more than 14 million people living in remote areas in Guizhou. The province therefore invested 1.5 billion yuan ($235.3 million) in equipping some 1,500 hospitals in villages and towns with an online healthcare system to improve medical conditions in remote areas.

"We hope that villagers can get timely treatment in their hometown," said Gong Zhongming, deputy director of the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guizhou Province.

The online system currently conducts 6,000 online medical consultation sessions on a daily basis and has conducted two million sessions in total.