On November 7, the website of the National Health Commission of China released a notice that the National Health Commission, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the National Disease Control and Prevention Bureau jointly issued the "Negative Behavior List for Internet Health Popularization by Medical Personnel (Trial)", clearly defining 10 categories of negative behaviors by medical personnel in internet health popularization, aiming to further regulate online health communication order, and maintain the professionalism and credibility of medical science popularization.

AI Medical

According to the introduction, with the improvement of public health awareness, the Internet has become an important channel for the public to obtain health knowledge. However, some medical personnel have been "selling products" or "advertising" under the guise of popularizing knowledge, even leaking medical information in violation of regulations, exaggerating treatment effects, and fabricating false cases, deviating from the original purpose of health popularization and damaging the image of the medical industry.

To this end, the three departments, based on relevant laws and regulations, systematically sorted out the current major problems in internet health popularization, and through the "List (Trial)", clarified prohibited behaviors, including:

  • It is not allowed to illegally release advertisements, guide traffic, or profit through live streaming sales, promoting medical products, health food, or health courses in the form of health popularization;

  • It is not allowed to exaggerate the condition and treatment effect, use "miracle doctors" or "miracle drugs" for false advertising, or fabricate cases and invent stories to mislead the public;

  • It is not allowed to abuse artificial intelligence technology to publish AI-generated content that has not been verified for authenticity and scientific nature, or to fail to significantly identify AI-generated or synthesized information.

In addition, the "List (Trial)" also emphasizes that high-risk diagnostic and treatment technologies or treatment methods still in the research stage must not exaggerate their effects or spread misleading information. For acts where non-medical personnel impersonate medical professionals and conduct illegal promotions, relevant departments will investigate and deal with them strictly according to laws and regulations.

Industry insiders pointed out that this measure will not only purify the Internet health communication environment but also draw clear red lines for the boundaries of medical popularization in the AI era. In the future, authority, truthfulness, and standardization will become the new criteria for evaluating the credibility of health content.