China's national measures separate two things: internet diagnosis and treatment, and internet hospitals. Both sit on top of a physical medical institution that holds a practising licence. This page summarises what the measures say. It names no hospital and gives no medical advice.
Two definitions
The Measures for the Administration of Internet Diagnosis and Treatment (trial) define internet diagnosis and treatment as follows. A medical institution uses physicians registered at that institution to provide, through the internet and other information technology, follow-up visits for some common and chronic diseases, together with "Internet+" family doctor contract services.
The Measures for the Administration of Internet Hospitals (trial) say internet hospitals include two kinds. One is an internet hospital that serves as the second name of a physical medical institution. The other is an internet hospital set up independently and relying on a physical medical institution.
Who may offer it
The measures on internet diagnosis and treatment say it must be provided by a medical institution that holds a Medical Institution Practising Licence. A licensed institution that wants to start applies to the authority that issued its licence. If the authority approves, it adds "internet diagnosis and treatment" to the service mode on the licence copy.
For internet hospitals, the measures say a physical institution that uses physicians registered at its own institution and at other institutions, on a platform it builds alone or with a third party, should apply to use 互联网医院 (internet hospital) as its second name. One that uses only physicians registered at its own institution may apply to do so. The measures set rules for how the name is built:
- An institution applying alone uses its own name followed by 互联网医院 (internet hospital).
- An institution applying together with a partner uses its own name, the partner's identifying name and then 互联网医院.
- An independently set up internet hospital uses the applicant's identifying name followed by 互联网医院.
The measures also say internet diagnosis and treatment must match the institution's registered clinical departments. An institution may not carry out internet diagnosis and treatment in departments the health administration has not approved.
What the practice rules say
The measures on internet diagnosis and treatment set these rules:
- Physicians and nurses who take part must be searchable in the national electronic registration systems for physicians and nurses, and the institution must verify their real names electronically.
- A physician needs at least 3 years of independent clinical experience and the consent of the institution where the physician is registered.
- When a physician follows up a patient online, the physician must hold the patient's medical records and confirm that the patient was clearly diagnosed at a physical institution with a common or chronic disease. The follow-up can only concern the same diagnosis.
- If the patient's condition changes and needs in-person examination, the institution and its staff must stop the internet service at once and guide the patient to a physical institution.
- The measures say internet diagnosis and treatment must not be provided to first-visit patients.
On prescriptions, the measures on internet diagnosis and treatment say a prescription issued online must carry the physician's electronic signature and be reviewed by a pharmacist. They also say institutions must not issue prescriptions for specially controlled drugs such as narcotic and psychotropic drugs. For a child under 6, they say the institution must confirm that a guardian and a relevant specialist physician are with the child.
The measures on internet hospitals add that an internet hospital must give the patient a risk notice and obtain the patient's informed consent. They say that when a patient is seen at a physical institution and the treating physician invites other physicians to consult through the internet hospital, the consulting physician may give a diagnostic opinion and issue a prescription. When the patient has not been seen at a physical institution, the measures say physicians may only offer follow-up services for some common and chronic diseases.
Data, liability and supervision
Under the measures on internet diagnosis and treatment, institutions must keep patient information safe and may not illegally sell or leak it. If a leak happens, the institution must report it promptly to the health administration in charge.
For liability, the measures on internet hospitals say an internet hospital that holds its own licence is an independent legal entity. When a physical institution uses an internet hospital as its second name, the physical institution is the legal entity responsible. If a patient and an internet hospital have a medical dispute, the patient should apply to the internet hospital's registration authority.
On supervision, the measures on internet diagnosis and treatment say health administrations at county level and above supervise by territory. They also say these administrations must publish the list of medical institutions allowed to provide internet diagnosis and treatment, and a supervision telephone number or other way to report violations. The measures on internet hospitals set the same publication duty for internet hospitals, and say the provincial health administration and the registration authority supervise them together through a provincial internet medical service supervision platform.
Basic standards for an internet hospital
The measures include basic standards for internet hospitals. They set these staffing and equipment points:
- At least 1 chief-level and 1 associate-chief-level physician in the corresponding clinical department of the physical institution must be registered at that institution.
- At least 1 pharmacist must be on duty during business hours to review prescriptions.
- The servers used for the internet hospital must number at least 2 sets, and servers storing medical data must not be kept overseas.
- Network bandwidth must be no lower than 10Mbps, supplied by at least two providers.
- The information system must apply third-level information security protection.
What this page did not establish
- The measures were read as published on the Chinese central government portal. Later revisions or replacements were not checked.
- Later supervision rules were not collected.
- Local rules and individual platforms were not collected, and no internet hospital is named or assessed.
Questions people ask
What is an internet hospital in China?
The measures define it as an internet hospital that serves as a physical institution's second name, or one set up independently and relying on a physical institution.
Can internet diagnosis and treatment be given to a first-time patient?
The measures say it must not be provided to first-visit patients. They describe it as follow-up for some common and chronic diseases already diagnosed at a physical institution.
Can drugs of every kind be prescribed online?
No. The measures say institutions must not issue online prescriptions for specially controlled drugs such as narcotic and psychotropic drugs.
Sources
The source above was read on the date shown. This page is an unofficial summary of general administrative information. It is not published by the bodies named above, and it is not medical advice. If it differs from the official pages, the official pages prevail, and rules may change after the check date.
Entry facts come from the hospital’s own pages as read on the dates shown in each source note; this unofficial summary is not medical advice, and the hospital’s current published information prevails. Medical and legal notice