Shanghai using software to track crooked doctors

The Shanghai Health Bureau announced plans to more widely implement software designed to identify corrupt doctors through their prescription habits.
 
Officials say the program can detect when a doctor overprescribes certain medication in exchange for kickbacks or bribes from the drug manufacturer, an often-noted problem in China’s hospitals.
 
About $2.4 million in bribes have been turned over to the authorities in the past three years, the bureau announced.
 
Currently the prescription-tracking software is being tried in 26 second- and third-tier hospitals in Shanghai.
 
In addition, bureau officials said in the future “medical ethics files” will be prepared for all medical personnel in the city. According to the bureau, the files will contain complete records of a staff member’s conduct as well as patient feedback, and will be consulted during performance appraisals and when considering personnel for promotions.
 
Source: Xinmin Evening News (新民晚报)

_____________

Benjamin Kessler is a contributing editor of the FCPA Blog. He's the managing editor of the members area of the FCPA Blog and the editor of the China Compliance Digest.

Comments

[Ken Chan]

An interesting article…. the Bureau’s initiative aims to strengthen the data security of the hospitals, prohibiting any unauthorized access to doctors’ prescription statistics, which could be misused for kickback purpose.

Ken Chan from Beijing Orient Business Investigation Co Ltd