Beijing court cracks down on medical fraud cases

A Beijing court has stepped up efforts in recent years to combat fraudulent practices involving medical institutions, aiming to strengthen protection for patients.

Data released Tuesday by the Beijing No 3 Intermediate People's Court showed that from January 2022 to October this year, the court concluded 310 medical-related cases, including 59 involving consumption fraud in the healthcare sector.

According to Zhu Ping, vice-president of the court, these fraud disputes mainly occurred at for-profit medical institutions, such as those offering medical cosmetology, oral health and health management services — areas where prices can be set independently.

He noted that patients at such institutions are also consumers because they pay the full cost of their care out-of-pocket, without the benefit of health insurance coverage.

Zhu stressed the importance of cracking down on medical consumption scams, saying common fraudulent practices include fabricating institutional qualifications, exaggerating doctors' treatment capabilities, making false promises about outcomes and pushing patients to undergo unnecessary examinations.

"It is a challenge for patients or consumers to provide evidence of these fraudulent behaviors, making it difficult for them to protect their rights and interests," he said.

To better safeguard consumer rights in the medical sector, Zhu said the court has focused on accurately identifying fraudulent acts by applying provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law and the Civil Code, the country's fundamental law governing civil activities.

In one case, a consumer surnamed Zhao sued an oral medical institution, alleging it had published promotional content that violated advertising regulations and employed unlicensed doctors to perform orthodontic procedures.

After a hearing, the court ruled that the institution's actions constituted fraud and ordered it to refund Zhao's payment and pay compensation equal to three times the original amount.

"Consumers receiving medical services are at a disadvantage in disputes because they have a knowledge gap compared with medical institutions in terms of market information, medical expertise and industry conditions," Zhu said.

"By imposing punitive damages on medical operators that commit fraud, the cost of their illegal actions increases, effectively balancing consumers' disadvantaged position," he added.