YINCHUAN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has highlighted the role of "Internet Plus" in improving medical care in rural areas.

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during an inspection tour of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, from Wednesday to Thursday.

"The combination of Internet Plus and medical care is a significant solution to the problem of imbalanced and insufficient supply of medical resources," she said when visiting local hospitals and medical service centers.

She asked for the faster implementation of tele-medicine and wider coverage of high-quality medical resources, and other online services such as medical consultation, treatment appointments and one-stop payment to improve the people's experience with medical care services.

"The Internet should be further integrated into the service of family doctors, who should give priority to groups including left-behind children, the empty-nest elderly and chronic disease patients," Sun said. "Social forces should also be encouraged to set up online platforms for medical care."

Moreover, medical care institutions at the grassroots, especially those in impoverished areas, should be further connected to bigger hospitals with the support of medical unions and tele-medicine to enjoy better talent and technology.

She also called for the promotion of healthier lifestyles in rural areas as well as a project to better the nutrition of students before high school, so as to lower the frequency of illness.

The calls were in response to a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council earlier this month, which asked for the expansion of the role of Internet Plus in medical care.