Legal challenges and regulatory responses in online medical consultation

Online medical consultation (OMC), a component of digital health, has expanded rapidly, giving rise to a variety of operational models. Furthermore, advances in artificial intelligence have created new opportunities for its evolution. With their abundant medical resources and technological capabilities, major cities such as Beijing have experienced particularly rapid growth in OMC. However, given the lack of OMC-specific regulations, the sector in Beijing still faces several legal uncertainties, notably regarding the legal status of OMC services and platform liability. Therefore, it is recommended that cities such as Beijing establish a dedicated OMC regulatory framework centered on comprehensive local departmental rules. Such rules can define the nature of services and platform liability under the overarching principle that standards should be tailored to the operational model.