Bribing doctors and even engaging in sexual activities in various ways to uncover the secrets of drug agents: Pinyin Network Resource Representative | Medicine | Bribery
The anti-corruption storm in healthcare continues to deepen, and scandals continue in hospitals across the country. Many industry insiders have described the current state of the healthcare industry as "anxious".
The reporter interviewed various personnel including pharmaceutical representatives, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, industry experts, and healthcare industry practitioners, revealing the unknown secrets of pharmaceutical representatives.
Someone knows the dean and sets up a pharmaceutical agency to sell medicine to the whole family
A person who has worked in a pharmaceutical company for many years told reporters that the basic salary of pharmaceutical representatives is not high, ranging from 2000 to 4000 yuan, and their income mainly relies on commissions. It is common to earn tens of thousands of yuan per year, while high commission pharmaceutical representatives earn millions of yuan per year.
The person stated that pharmaceutical companies are generally divided into two types: one is pharmaceutical factories, which are manufacturers and belong to the pharmaceutical industry; Another type is pharmaceutical commercial companies, mainly engaged in drug procurement and distribution, mastering sales and distribution channels in various regions. Some pharmaceutical companies have established their own commercial companies, but their scale is generally small, and there are also large commercial companies that have acquired pharmaceutical factories.
One industry situation is that pharmaceutical commercial companies have already matured their "land resources" in various regions, with their own distribution networks and customer resources, as well as warehouses. Pharmacies need to rely on pharmaceutical representatives to sell drugs, mainly to hospitals.
"Usually, when we talk about pharmaceutical representatives, we mostly refer to people from pharmaceutical factories and commercial pharmaceutical companies, but there are also two special categories." The above-mentioned pharmaceutical company personnel said that some pharmaceutical representatives are affiliated with commercial companies, such as A having relatives who are hospital deans. As a pharmaceutical representative, there will be special channels, and A will choose to work as a pharmaceutical representative and be affiliated with a pharmaceutical company. Pharmaceutical companies are also willing to accept this model in order to expand sales.
Another type is small commercial companies, such as B's relatives who are also hospital directors. He can establish a company and develop his relatives and friends into pharmaceutical representatives, working in this county and making a lot of money.
According to Interface News, a pharmaceutical agent explained that his daily work also includes making phone calls with doctors and visiting doctors in outpatient clinics and wards. The doctor is busy with work during the day, and he and his colleagues also visit at night. The frequency of night visits is also one of the evaluation indicators for pharmaceutical representative work in some companies. "Our job ultimately involves spending time getting to know doctors, and going to the hospital at night to chat with them is just one way."
Another pharmaceutical representative said, taking medicine as an example, if a new drug wants to be admitted to the hospital, it must first find the corresponding department director. After selecting the department director, the department director will give a "temporary procurement" note to the pharmacy department. Then, the pharmaceutical representative needs to find the pharmacy department again to clear the relationship between them. "At this point, we need to increase the benefits to both sides and make them agree to the drug's admission," which is called the "admission fee.".
Pharmacopoeia is about pooling network resources and bribing doctors in various ways
According to the reporter's interview, for common diseases, there are multiple medications available for the same disease, and each medication may have multiple manufacturers. When purchasing drugs in hospitals, there are choices to make, and procurement also needs to go through the dean, department director, pharmaceutical committee and other responsible persons, which can easily breed corruption.
An industry insider told reporters that there are ways of drug bribery, including giving money and even engaging in sexual activities. After a huge bribe, the interests of both parties become stable. Some medical representatives and department heads have formed a strong relationship. A particularly powerful pharmaceutical representative will deeply bind interests with the dean.
The reporter found that there are many cases of hospital deans being verified and reported for power and sex transactions.
For example, in March this year, the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission of Zhongshan City issued a "double opening" notice from Luo Yong, former Secretary and President of the Party Branch of Tanzhou People's Hospital in Zhongshan City: after investigation, Luo Yong lost his ideals and beliefs, abandoned his original mission, was disloyal and dishonest to the Party, and opposed organizational review; Ignoring the spirit of the central eight point regulations, illegally accepting red envelopes and gifts, and engaging in power and color transactions.
In 2020, the Yunnan Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision announced that Yang Wenjun, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Pu'er People's Hospital, violated the discipline of daily life by engaging in and maintaining an improper sexual relationship with others during the existence of his marital relationship, resulting in a lack of discipline and discipline towards his son, causing adverse effects.
A pharmaceutical representative told reporters that drug agents will also distribute profits to doctors based on drug profit margins. If the doctor indicates that they will take the medication, or if they have already taken the medication, there will be benefits to the medication. In the process of continuous consumption of drugs or consumables, drug agents will also give doctors commissions based on sales volume. The most profitable ones are still equipment and consumables, with each device costing millions or even tens of millions of yuan. The country has special funds for large-scale equipment, but there are many people involved in the procurement process and there are also many cases of corruption.
"Actually, whether you do it well or not depends on networking and resources," another newly hired pharmaceutical agent said in an interview with reporters. He clearly felt that some pharmaceutical agents have a good relationship with doctors and earn more income. According to media reports, due to the fact that promoting drugs through drug delivery relies heavily on profit sharing, the work of pharmaceutical representatives encountered many difficulties, and ultimately chose to switch careers in 2022.
This distorted industry situation can sometimes have extreme impacts. A recent public article on the website of the Yunnan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision mentioned that Jingdong Yi Autonomous County in Pu'er City has eradicated the "cancer" of bribery that has been prevalent in the medical and health fields of the county for nearly 20 years. According to a report by Yunnan Daily in February this year, in the past two years, all 13 township health center deans and 3 branch hospital deans in Jingdong County have been occupied. According to the relevant person in charge of the Jingdong County Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, 403 people in the medical and health industry in the county voluntarily explained their problems, returned stolen goods, and submitted improper profits.
An industry insider believes that in reality, it cannot be said that all doctors are corrupt and actively take kickbacks. Because the hospital takes kickbacks, it is almost a public secret that everyone inside knows. As a doctor, I can only prescribe drugs on the hospital's list. When purchasing drugs, both the dean and department head agreed, and the doctor can only accept them. A doctor with principles may not prescribe these medications at most, but sometimes there is no way to do so as there will be kickbacks when prescribed.
From drug research and development to distribution, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies have multiple links of interest binding
"The most prone to corruption is in the circulation process," a senior expert in the medical industry told reporters. In the drug circulation process, the transaction process between pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions is more prone to corruption.
In fact, there are many vested interests between pharmaceutical companies and hospitals in drug research and development, clinical trials, promotion and marketing, and circulation transactions. Of course, the interests here are not all improper interests, but also legitimate interests, but there is room for corruption in multiple aspects.
A pharmaceutical company official told reporters about the process of each link. It is said that during the research and development stage of a new drug, pharmaceutical companies will invite universities, doctors, pharmacists, and others to participate in the research and development. This is in compliance with regulations and also the first intersection between both parties. If drug development is successful, clinical trials need to be conducted on humans. Generally, open recruitment of drug testers will be conducted in hospitals, and large hospitals and well-known doctors will be sought. At this point, doctors will participate.
After the successful clinical trial, the pharmaceutical company will hold a new drug press conference and invite experts from all walks of life, which is also in compliance with regulations. At this time, only a small group of people know about the new drug. Next, pharmaceutical companies will seek more experts to continue clinical research, including comparative trials with existing drugs. Doctors also have this need because they need clinical research and writing papers; This type of experiment is also beneficial for the drug itself, as the more clinical trials there are, the better it can ensure the safety of the drug. This process is actually related to expert doctors, and pharmaceutical companies have doctor resources for new drug platforms.
Next, pharmaceutical companies will hold academic conferences to discuss research results with doctors and experts. First, a nationwide conference will be held, followed by various provinces, cities, and counties. In this way, the new drug can be known by doctors and experts at the national, provincial, municipal, and county levels. This process itself is not a problem, but it has become a breeding ground for corruption, as evidenced by a series of recently exposed cases.
A doctor from a certain tertiary hospital said in an interview with the media that ordinary doctors can receive about 1200 yuan per hour for teaching fees. If it is an expert, the price will increase to 1800 yuan, while for top-level experts, it may be around 3000 yuan per hour.
"If the early stage is to exert influence, there is actually no need to further study and argue in the later stage. Holding academic conferences at this time often involves corrupt behavior." A pharmaceutical company official told reporters that some people use the guise of academic conferences to engage in corruption, invite people to eat and drink, hold half day meetings, and play half day games. Before leaving, giving "academic materials" is actually money. Some even go to pornographic venues, and some go abroad to play under the name of academic conferences.
Another person working in the pharmaceutical industry told reporters that academic conferences do have benefits for pharmaceutical companies, as they can showcase their own drugs and get to know chief doctors who are not commonly seen. Academic associations have fixed cooperative public relations companies that hold these pharmaceutical academic conferences, and pharmaceutical companies can use the name of doctors to popularize and promote their drugs.
"The conference fees, venue fees, and lecture fees for academic conferences are all hidden." The person stated that relatively pure academic conferences are held by selling advertising spaces to raise funds, while impure ones include high consumption travel, dining, sightseeing, and other activities.
