The National Health Commission said on March 22 that a yearlong campaign has been launched to clamp down on scams and fraud in the healthcare sector.

The campaign, which starts this month, is jointly launched by the commission and another eight central government departments.

The commission said in a statement that the campaign will focus on illegal activities such as practicing irregularities, medical care fraud, overtreatment, and misleading commercials and promotions of healthcare products and services.

The authority also vowed harsh punishment for medical practitioners leasing their certificates, healthcare providers or pharmacies renting and trading such certificates, and those manufacturing and selling counterfeit drugs will face harsh punishment.

For those enticing and forcing patients to receive unnecessary treatment, the national credit system for medical practitioners and facilities will mark down their wrongdoings and illegal activities, and make their information public.