(Yicai) Aug. 22 -- Beijing plans to stiffen the regulation of online diagnosis and treatment and ban artificial intelligence-generated medical prescriptions.

The Beijing Municipal Health Commission is soliciting public feedback on the draft new rules until Sept. 16, it said yesterday.

For online diagnosis and treatment by medical institutions, doctors must write prescriptions themselves, which will only be released to patients after being examined by pharmacists, according to the measures. AI-generated prescriptions are banned, and doctors cannot give patients any drugs before prescribing them.

Real-name authentication is required for medical staff seeing patients online to ensure they are legally qualified, have over three years of experience in independent clinical work, and have been approved by medical institutions and are registered for such services, according to draft rules. Medical practitioners must receive patients themselves.

Patients must also offer their identification documents and basic personal information and are not allowed to see a doctor online in the name of other people. They must provide medical histories with a definitive diagnosis to online doctors, and if online medical diagnosis and treatment are deemed unsuitable for the patients, doctors can direct them to brick-and-mortar medical centers.

Online medical records must be kept for at least 15 years, and at least three years of video and audio related to consultations must be saved. According to draft rules, fees and standards also must be posted on online medical platforms for patients to refer to.

The Beijing Municipal Health Commission will set up an online diagnosis and treatment regulation platform to supervise medical institutions offering online services.

Editor: Martin Kadiev