Medical anti-corruption continues to deepen! The number of investigated deans and secretaries has risen to 176 in Haicheng | Medical | Secretary
Since mid July, regulatory authorities have expressed their actions and determination towards medical anti-corruption three times in a row, and the anti-corruption crisis in China's medicine industry has once again escalated. Since August, there have been daily reports of medical system officials falling from their posts.
Public information shows that this round of anti-corruption in the pharmaceutical industry not only requires strict inspections of pharmaceutical representatives, but hospitals have also begun to inspect departments and doctors. According to statistics from Upstream News, as of August 12th, at least 176 hospital deans and secretaries have been investigated nationwide this year.
Recently, several leading cadres in the field of medical insurance have gradually fallen from their positions, and the anti-corruption efforts in the national pharmaceutical industry are rapidly advancing towards multiple sub sectors, entering deep waters.
During the anti-corruption campaign in the pharmaceutical industry, the number of secretaries and deans investigated was raised to 176
Earlier, according to statistics from the People's Daily Health App, at least 168 hospital party secretaries and deans have been investigated as of August 6th this year.
And after that, almost every day, hospital secretaries and deans fell from grace:
On August 7th, Cha Yufei, former head of the Medical Equipment Department of Xishuangbanna People's Hospital, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently undergoing disciplinary review by the Xishuangbanna Discipline Inspection Commission.
On August 7th, Li Yonglong, Vice Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference and Secretary of the Party Group of the District Health Bureau in Jinping District, Shantou City, Guangdong Province, announced his resignation. He had previously served as the Director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Jinping District, Shantou City.
On August 8th, Liao Ying, Secretary of the Party Branch and President of the Women and Children's Health Hospital in Qujiang District, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, announced his downfall.
On August 9th, Li Guang, the President of the Medical Community Group of the Second People's Hospital of Longhu District, Shantou City, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law. He is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Longhu District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision.
On August 10th, Wang Qun, former director of Qitaihe People's Hospital in Heilongjiang Province, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation.
On August 11th, Zhang Chuanyue, Secretary of the Party Committee of Qianxinan People's Hospital in Guizhou Province, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law. He is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Qianxinan Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission.
On August 11th, Yan Wendong, a member of the Party Committee of Shangqiu Medical College and Secretary and Dean of the Party Committee of Zhecheng County People's Hospital in Henan Province, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law. He is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Shangqiu Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision.
On August 12th, Li Xiangqian, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Xi'an Chest Hospital in Shaanxi Province, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law. He is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Lantian County Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision in Xi'an.
As of August 12th, 176 hospital deans and secretaries have been investigated nationwide. In fact, due to statistical limitations, this number may actually be even higher. The anti-corruption efforts in the medical field have entered deep waters.
Medical anti-corruption has swept through more than 20 provinces and has penetrated into the field of medical insurance
Not only hospital secretaries and deans have been arrested, but in recent information released by disciplinary supervision departments across the country, several leading cadres from the medical insurance field have been investigated.
On August 7th, the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission of Anshan City, Liaoning Province, announced that Zhang Huan, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the Haicheng Medical Security Bureau, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Haicheng Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision.
She has appeared multiple times as the director of the Medical Insurance Bureau on the local radio political inquiry program "Public Opinion Hotline", giving on-site explanations and answering audience hotlines on hot topics such as the promotion of medical security work in Haicheng City, medical insurance policy reform, drug list adjustment, and direct settlement for medical treatment in other places. She interacted with the audience.
On August 7th, another former head of the provincial medical insurance bureau was put on trial. On the morning of that day, the Intermediate People's Court of Hezhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region held a public trial of the bribery case of Wang Zhongping, former Party Secretary and Director of the Medical Security Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The People's Procuratorate of Hezhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, accused Wang Zhongping of accepting more than 17.07 million bribes and requested that he be held criminally responsible for the crime of bribery. Wang Zhongping has been working in Guangxi for a long time and has served as a member of the Party Group and Deputy Director of the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. He has been serving as the Director of the Medical Security Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region since November 2018.
On August 10th, Wang Qun, former director of Qitaihe People's Hospital in Heilongjiang Province, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation. From the resume, it can be seen that after leaving the People's Hospital of Qitaihe City, Wang Qun became the head of the Qitaihe City Medical Security Bureau. On July 28th this year, Wang Qun was dismissed from his position by the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Qitaihe City.
On the 10th, the website of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission of Xiangtan City, Hunan Province, announced that Zhou Xiaoyuan, a department level official of the Xiangxiang Medical Security Bureau and former Deputy Secretary and General Manager of the Party Group of Xiangxiang Economic Development Zone Construction Investment and Development Co., Ltd., is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Xiangxiang Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision.
It is worth noting that although Zhou Xiaoyuan's level is not high, his efforts to "fly swatting" and "tiger hunting" remain undiminished.
According to incomplete statistics from Pengpai News, as of August 11th, in the past three weeks, at least 20 provincial regulatory departments and disciplinary inspection commissions have spoken out on anti-corruption issues, calling for in-depth centralized rectification of corruption in the pharmaceutical industry. Promote the development of follow-up improvement measures and promote the integration of "not daring to corrupt, not being corrupt, and not wanting to corrupt".
From the press releases released by regulatory authorities in various regions, it can be seen that the centralized rectification actions in some provinces are initiated and led by the drug regulatory authorities, with joint participation from multiple departments. In addition, the relevant rectification actions in many provinces have also received cooperation from the disciplinary inspection and supervision departments. Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Fujian, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hainan, Shanxi and other places have also released reporting phone numbers during the centralized rectification of corruption in the pharmaceutical industry.
Drawing: People's Daily Health Client
Further deepening anti-corruption efforts to bring the medical and pharmaceutical ecosystem back to "clarity"
In fact, the investigation of the hospital party secretary, dean, and medical insurance director does not seem sudden. In May of this year, the National Health Commission and 14 other departments jointly issued a notice on the key points for correcting improper practices in the field of pharmaceutical procurement and sales and medical services in 2023, requiring the improvement of the professional ethics governance system and focusing on addressing prominent corruption issues in the pharmaceutical sector. This is the first deployment of rectification work in accordance with the adjustment of the composition departments and relevant functions of the State Council, and the adjustment of member units of the inter ministerial joint working mechanism to correct misconduct in the field of pharmaceutical procurement and sales and medical services.
Not only is the intensity unprecedented, but this anti-corruption storm in the medical field has also directly hit the key and difficult points. According to China Newsweek, the corruption problem in China's medical system mainly focuses on drug distribution, equipment procurement, consumables supply, engineering construction, and other aspects. The extra costs paid by hospitals are passed on to patients and finance. Previously, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission disclosed a case: a medical device linear accelerator imported for 15 million yuan was purchased by a hospital for 35.2 million yuan, and the rebate in between was actually eaten by the hospital director for 16 million yuan. Key figures in medical institutions have become the focus of this round of medical anti-corruption efforts.
"Commercial bribery in the pharmaceutical industry is often linked to specialized and personalized medical practices, making it more covert and difficult to investigate. For example, companies engage in illegal profit transmission under the guise of sponsoring scientific research funds, academic conference fees, etc.; give kickbacks to hospital staff in the pharmaceutical procurement and sales process; use methods such as inflating drug prices in the production process and engaging in false transactions in the circulation process to obtain funds for bribery." On August 1st, Zhan Shu, a senior partner at Beijing Xinnuo Law Firm, stated that in the past, the ultimate punishment for such corruption cases in the pharmaceutical industry was on individuals and could not truly strike the ultimate beneficiaries. Now, under the strong supervision and rectification of regulatory authorities, it is necessary to fundamentally solve the problem.
On July 28th, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission held a mobilization meeting, deploying disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies to cooperate in carrying out centralized rectification of corruption in the national pharmaceutical industry. The mobilization meeting clearly emphasized the need to deepen the systematic governance of the pharmaceutical industry across all fields, chains, and coverage.
"We have been discussing the impact of pharmaceutical anti-corruption on the pharmaceutical and medical industries these past few days." On August 11th, a reporter from the People's Daily Health Client learned at the "2023 Beijing Health Conference" that anti-corruption is currently one of the most talked about topics among pharmaceutical representatives. Several representatives have told reporters that pharmaceutical companies are currently in a temporary response stage to digest the impact of anti-corruption actions. In the long run, anti-corruption will definitely be conducive to the formation of a compliant business culture in the industry.
On August 12th, the People's Daily released a micro review stating that carrying out comprehensive, full chain, and full coverage governance is not only to identify medical problems, but also to focus on purifying the medical ecosystem and revitalizing the entire system. This also reminds relevant personnel: do not reach out, reach out and you will be caught! Keep your original intention in awe, don't wait until you hit the wall to know how to turn.
