Multiple departments focus on the governance challenge of malicious complaints and “online medical disturbances”

Image source: People's Daily Online

DentalGoodNews｜On September 10, 2026, the Opinion Channel of People's Daily published a sharp commentary article focusing on the governance challenges posed to medical institutions by malicious complaints and "online medical disturbances": The General Office of the National Health Commission, the General Office of the Ministry of Education, the Comprehensive Department of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Comprehensive Department of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration jointly issued a document on August 18, 2026, publishing the "Opinions on Strengthening the Rule of Law in Hospitals" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), requiring law-based investigation and handling of cases such as "violent attacks on medical staff" and "online medical disturbances" to maintain the normal order of medical services; previously, on May 22, 2026, the National Health Commission and 14 other departments had issued the "2026 Key Work Points for Correcting Unhealthy Practices in the Field of Pharmaceutical Procurement and Medical Services" (hereinafter referred to as the "Key Points"), which also proposed requirements for rectifying related cases.

The "Opinions" pointed out that the current hospital rule-of-law system remains weak, and legal risk prevention mechanisms are incomplete. To this end, the National Health Commission requires that by the end of 2026, hospitals nationwide must effectively implement four systems: reporting of major law-related matters, analysis of typical cases, legal risk assessment, and annual reporting on law compliance. In particular, regarding malicious complaints, relevant departments require correcting the assessment indicators of some medical institutions that are purely oriented toward "zero complaints," to avoid the situation where complaints are uniformly pursued regardless of authenticity.

This high-pressure assessment had objectively encouraged the speculative mentality of "gaining benefits through disturbances." The aforementioned People's Daily commentary article mentioned that malicious complaints and "online medical disturbances" manifest as repeated litigation lacking factual basis, and even fabricating rumors such as "excessive medical treatment" through short videos to demand high compensation. The article pointed out that this may lead some medical personnel to adopt "Defensive Medicine" strategies for self-protection (i.e., conservative diagnostic and treatment strategies to avoid disputes), thereby affecting doctor-patient trust.

At the local implementation level, rectification actions have been rolled out. On August 12, 2026, the Health Commission, the Cyberspace Administration, and the Public Security Bureau of Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, jointly issued a document clearly defining 9 categories of "online medical disturbance" behaviors that constitute illegal crimes, including: hiring online water armies for malicious hype, using AI deepfake technology to produce videos infringing on the reputation of medical personnel, and repeatedly filing online false accusations after medical disputes have been concluded. The Luzhou notice made clear that those violating the Public Security Administration Punishments Law will be subject to administrative detention, and those whose circumstances are serious enough to constitute the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble will be held criminally responsible in accordance with the law.

According to previous reports by DGN, the State Administration for Market Regulation officially implemented the "Measures for Handling Complaints and Reports in Market Regulation" on April 15, 2026, which set out criteria for determining malicious claims and "professional extortion." This joint rectification by the National Health Commission and 14 other departments marks the initial closure of a rule-of-law defense line from market regulation to the internal medical industry.