Tianjin plans to regulate Internet diagnosis and treatment, clearly prohibiting AI from replacing do

*Image source: Tianjin Municipal Health Commission official website

Good Dental News |The Tianjin Municipal Health Commission recently released the "Implementation Measures for the Supervision of Internet-based Medical Services in Tianjin (Draft for Public Comment)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), soliciting public opinions. The deadline for feedback is December 9, 2025.

The Measures, comprising seven chapters and forty-one articles, clarify the regulatory framework for internet-based medical services within the administrative region of Tianjin. The municipal health administration department is responsible for the supervision of internet-based medical services throughout the city, while the health administration departments of each district are responsible for implementing localized regulatory duties.

Regarding the supervision of medical institutions, Tianjin will establish a municipal-level internet-based medical service supervision platform. Medical institutions should proactively connect to the platform and promptly upload their practice information, such as their "Medical Institution Practice License." If a medical institution fails to upload relevant information within 7 working days after obtaining or changing its practice license, the health administration department at the same level as its registration authority will urge it to do so.

Medical institutions must establish dedicated departments to manage the medical quality, medical safety, pharmaceutical services, and information technology of internet-based medical services, and establish corresponding management systems, including a self-inspection system for practicing medicine in accordance with the law, a medical quality and safety management system, a medical quality adverse event reporting system, and a medical staff training and assessment system.

Internet hospitals that serve as a secondary name to physical medical institutions are verified simultaneously with the physical medical institution; Internet hospitals that obtain a "Medical Institution Practice License" independently based on a physical medical institution are verified once a year and must apply for verification procedures three months before the expiration of the verification period.

Regarding personnel supervision, physicians conducting online medical consultations must obtain the corresponding professional qualifications in accordance with the law, register with the physical medical institution or other medical institution upon which the online hospital is affiliated, and have more than 3 years of independent clinical work experience. Physicians must undergo real-name authentication before providing consultations, and other personnel or artificial intelligence software are prohibited from impersonating or replacing physicians to provide medical services.

In terms of business supervision, online medical consultations are subject to real-name registration, requiring patients to provide genuine identity verification. Patients should provide medical records with a clear diagnosis during their consultation, and the attending physician will determine whether they meet the criteria for a follow-up visit. If a patient's condition changes, if the current consultation is determined by the physician to be the first visit, or if there are other circumstances unsuitable for online medical consultations, the attending physician should immediately terminate the online consultation and guide the patient to a physical medical institution for treatment.

Online medical records must be managed in accordance with the regulations for outpatient electronic medical records and must be retained for no less than 15 years. Records of text-based consultations, audio-visual materials, and other process data during consultations must be retained for no less than 3 years. Prescriptions must be issued by the attending physician; the use of artificial intelligence or other automated methods to generate prescriptions is strictly prohibited.

Regarding quality and safety supervision, medical institutions should establish systems for cybersecurity, data security, personal information protection, and privacy protection. Municipal-level regulatory platforms and internet-based medical service platforms used by medical institutions should implement information security protection at Level 3 or higher.

According to previous reports by Goodtooth, Shanxi Province will release the "Administrative Measures for Scoring of Unethical Practices in Internet Hospitals (Trial)" in October 2025, strengthening the supervision of internet-based medical services through a scoring system. Tianjin Municipality issued the "Implementation Measures for Supervision of Internet-based Medical Services in Tianjin (Trial)" in 2023, which will expire on December 31, 2025. This draft for public comment is a revised version of the measures.