 |
customer@davidpublishing.com |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
On the Systematic Development of Public Interest Litigation Against Overmedicalization
ZENG Tiantian
Full-Text PDF
XML 15 Views
DOI:10.17265/1548-6605/2026.02.003
Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, China
Due to its systemic and covert nature, excessive medical treatment not only infringes upon individual patients’ property and health rights but also poses a continuous threat to the security of medical insurance funds, the order of the healthcare industry, and public trust in healthcare. Given its distinct public interest attributes, and the fraudulent nature of the excessive practices themselves, pursuing the path of public interest litigation holds significant importance. The judicial practice of China first civil public interest litigation case involving excessive medical treatment was achieved through the framework of consumer fraud; however, its reliance on the Consumer Rights Protection Law has exposed a dual dilemma of weak legal foundations and limited scope of application, particularly given that pharmaceuticals or medical treatments differ from commodities, and patients are not equivalent to consumers. An interpretive analysis of certain provisions in the current Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law and the Physicians Law can establish the regulatory framework for public interest litigation regarding excessive medical treatment; however, insufficient legislative provisions and a lack of practical precedents mean that such litigation in China remains in a state of legal vacuum. Against the backdrop of the Law on Public Interest Litigation by the procuratorate being included in the legislative agenda, the systematic development of public interest litigation regarding overtreatment should focus on four key dimensions: Regarding litigation subjects, a dual-track framework should be established, with procuratorial organs taking the lead and social organizations acting in coordination; regarding grounds for filing, the violation of medical treatment standards should serve as the core criterion, supplemented by quantitative standards for assessing harm to the public interest; in procedural aspects, a rule system should be established based on the principles of intermediate court jurisdiction, public notice and registration, and trial by a collegiate bench, supplemented by conditional mediation and the judicious use of special procedures; regarding compensation mechanisms, the punitive damages mechanism stipulated in existing public interest litigation laws—which can regulate fraudulent conduct—should be adapted and applied. Only through a systematic construction from interpretation method to legislation method can this judicial innovation originated from case exploration be solidified into a new long-term social governance mechanism for safeguarding the health rights and interests of all citizens and the order of the medical market.
overmedicalization, public interest litigation, public interest, procuratorate
ZENG Tiantian.On the Systematic Development of Public Interest Litigation Against Overmedicalization.US-China Law Review, Mar.-Apr. 2026, Vol. 23, No. 2, 87-111
Brodersen, J., Schwartz, L. M., Heneghan, C., O’Sullivan, J. W., Aronson, J. K., & Woloshin, S. (2018). Overdiagnosis: Its definition and non-definition. The British Medical Journal: Evidence-Based Medicine, 23(1), 1-3.
Chen, S. Q., & Wang, S. F. (1999). Different perspectives on the application of the consumer rights protection law to medical disputes. Chinese Journal of Hospital Administration, 15(12), 736-738.
Dali Intermediate People’s Court. (2023). Pre-trial mediation in public interest litigation safeguards food safety. Retrieved from http://gw.yndlzfy.gov.cn/article/detail/2023/10/id/7560073.shtml (accessed on March 12, 2026)
Ding, B. T. (2024). A systematic review of the development path of public interest litigation under the specialized legislation process. Political Science and Law, 43(3), 40-55.
Federal Trade Commission. (2025). The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved a final ruling against telemedicine provider NextMed, which was accused of improper billing for promoting and selling GLP-1 weight-loss programs through false advertising. Retrieved from https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-approves-final-order-against-telehealth-provider-nextmed-over-charges-it-used-deceptive (accessed on December 3, 2025)
Feng, Y., & Zhao, M. (2019). Value construction of China’s medical malpractice appraisal system. Modern Hospital, 19(10), 1431-1433.
Fu, X. G. (2025). An interpretation of the rules on cross-regional centralized exclusive jurisdiction for consumer civil public interest litigation cases. Hebei Law Review, 43(9), 19-38.
Gao, X. (2023). The allocation and distribution of punitive damages in consumer public interest litigation: A cross-jurisdictional study based on the principle of distributive justice. Law Science, 68(12), 122-139.
Huang, Z. S. (2020). A study on punitive damages in consumer public interest litigation. China Legal Science, 37(1), 260-282.
Liang, X. F. (2021). A discussion on the development of medical appraisals in medical disputes. Journal of Jiangxi Electric Power Vocational and Technical College, 34(2), 119-120.
National Cultural Heritage Administration. (2017). Notice on issuing the 13th Five-Year Plan for the development of the national cultural heritage sector (Wenwu Zhengfa [2017] No. 4). Retrieved from http://www.ncha.gov.cn/art/2017/2/27/art_2237_436
63.html (accessed on November 15, 2025)
National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China. (2024). 2023 statistical bulletin on the development of China’s health sector. Retrieved from https://www.nhc.gov.cn/guihuaxxs/c100133/202408/0c53d04ede9e4079afff912d71b5131c.
shtml (accessed on November 12, 2025)
National Healthcare Security Administration. (2025). 2024 statistical bulletin on the development of the national healthcare security sector. Retrieved from https://www.nhsa.gov.cn/art/2025/7/14/art_7_17248.html (accessed on November 13, 2025)
Su, L. Y. (2022). Survey and intervention study on the current status of intravenous infusion clinical practice in Chinese hospitals (Master’s degree thesis, Central South University, 2022).
Supreme People’s Procuratorate. (2023). Supreme People’s Procuratorate releases typical cases from the special supervision campaign “Public interest litigation: Safeguarding a better life”. Retrieved from https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/xwfbh/wsfbh/
202308/t20230817_625113.shtml (accessed on November 15, 2025)
Wang, F. H., & Shen, J. Y. (2025). The res judicata effect of judgments in civil public interest litigation. Journal of the National Prosecutors College, 33(4), 51-65.
Wang, L. M. (2002). The concept of a consumer and the scope of application of the consumer rights protection law. Political Science and Law, 21(2), 3-12.
World Health Organization. (2023). Reports on patient safety. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/zh/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/patient-safety (accessed on November 13, 2025)
Yan, J. J. (2025). The cost of one extra incision—Behind China’s first civil public interest lawsuit involving overmedicalization. Retrieved from https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/zdgz/202504/t20250410_692626.shtml (accessed on November 13, 2025)
Yao, J. Z. (2010). Outline of emerging rights. Law and Social Development, 16(2), 3-15.
Yao, Q., Zhang, X. D., Jiao, Y. F., & Yao, L. (2025). Analysis of the main manifestations, generative mechanisms, and governance strategies of overmedicalization in China. Chinese Health Policy Research, 18(7), 61-69.
Zhang, C. B. (2016). A study on quality control in judicial appraisal of medical malpractice. Beijing: Beijing Law Press.
Zhang, M. (2022). A study on the legal dilemmas and solutions in judgments of overmedicalization cases. Journal of Northwest University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 52(6), 50-61.
Zhang, Y. J., & Lou, C. L. (2024). Establishing a public interest litigation framework for the protection of the rights of the digitally disadvantaged. Journal of Tianshui College of Administration, 25(4), 101-106.
Zhang, Z. L. (2003). Overmedicalization: A medical issue urgently requiring comprehensive management. Medicine and Philosophy, 24(9), 1-4.
Zhu, N. (2019). Reflections on the definition of cases involving overmedicalization. Medicine and Philosophy, 40(10), 5-9.
Zunyi Intermediate People’s Court. (2022). Actively exploring and boldly innovating: Zunyi Intermediate Court’s judicial confirmation mechanism for civil public interest litigation begins to bear fruit. Retrieved from http://zyzy.guizhoucourt.gov.cn/fyxw/244224.jhtml (accessed on March 12, 2026)