Where does the health certificate I obtained without a physical examination come from? I have obtained it for both food delivery personnel and catering staff. Journalist | Health Certificate | Delivery Personnel

Delivery drivers, catering staff, and others are required to apply for a health certificate according to regulations. However, according to interviews with reporters, some workers can apply for a certificate without having to undergo a physical examination in order to save time and money. The intermediary said there is cooperation with the hospital, and the hospital stated that no individual or group is authorized to apply for a health certificate. Industry insiders believe that the digitization of health certificates may be able to plug loopholes in processing. At the same time, many regions are promoting the reduction of preventive medical examination fees to solve the problem of intermediary certification.

"Send photos of the front and back of the ID card, with a white background one inch away. People don't need to go to the hospital to obtain a health certificate." Recently, Haosen, who works in dessert baking in Fengtai District, Beijing, told reporters that he did not undergo any physical examinations and only spent 100 yuan to receive a "fake replacement" health certificate.

"The original price was 135 yuan, and we only offered a discount when we applied for it together with four people." Haosen said that he used to go to the hospital near his workplace every year to apply for a health certificate. This year, he was too busy with work to run, so he found an online intermediary to apply for a certificate. The intermediary promises that the health certificate he applied for not only has the same appearance as the real health certificate, but also can scan the code to verify its authenticity.

To protect the health of employees and service recipients, relevant laws and regulations in China require specific employees engaged in food, drinking water production and operation, cosmetics production, public place services, and other industries to undergo preventive medical examinations and obtain health certificates in qualified places before taking up their positions. Why can I obtain a health certificate without a physical examination? Is this health certificate true or false? How to plug the loopholes in certificate processing? A reporter from Workers Daily conducted an investigation and interview on this matter.

Send the documents and make payment within about 3 days. The documents will be received

Following the contact information provided by Haosen, the reporter contacted the intermediary Lv who handled the health certificate. The other party stated that once the documents are sent and payment is made, the documents will be received in about 3 days, including a health certificate for employees in Beijing and a certificate of qualification for health regulations training.

When asked about the authenticity of the certificate, Lv said that the appearance was exactly the same as the real one. He followed the hospital intranet and scanned the code to check. "I have done it for delivery drivers, KTVs, and catering staff, and sometimes I can get six or seven tickets per order. There are also many old customers, so you can rest assured that it can be used by most units."

Haosen told reporters that the reason he chose to apply for a health certificate online through an intermediary is twofold: firstly, for convenience; secondly, for lax inspection. "The person checking is just looking at it, let alone the QR code on this document will still display relevant information after scanning."

The QR code mentioned by Lv and Haosen is located above the health certificate card. After scanning, a table will appear displaying personal information, examination items, medical institution name and seal, report date, etc.

"If you want to be more realistic, you can pay 150 yuan to get something that can be checked online," Lv added. Subsequently, he sent a link to the reporter, which was verified by the reporter and confirmed to be the website address for verifying the health examination of employees in Beijing.

Previously, Sun, who worked at a website in Beijing Meituan Maicai, also spent 150 yuan to apply for a health certificate at Lv's place. His health certificate related information can be found on the Beijing Practitioner Health Examination Verification website. The reporter contacted Sun and confirmed this matter.

The certification agency claims that the certificate can only be obtained after completing the prescribed inspection

Without any examination, one can obtain a health certificate and verify its authenticity. Which link went wrong? After further inquiry by the reporter, Lv revealed, "Due to cooperation with the hospital, most of the money collected is handed over to the hospital, and I only earn a few tens of yuan in the middle. For example, after someone places an order, I contact the hospital to apply for a certificate, and after the certificate is issued, I send it out. I charge 150 yuan, give it to the hospital for 120 yuan, and the rest is my own."

The reporter called Lv and claimed that there is cooperation with Beijing Fengtai Guangji Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital. The staff of the hospital stated that the hospital does indeed have the business of obtaining health certificates, but has not cooperated with any individuals or teams. All personnel who need to obtain health certificates need to go to the hospital to complete the prescribed examinations before they can obtain them.

"Last year, someone complained to the hospital that we had obtained a fake health certificate. About half a month ago, someone came to report this issue, and we all reported it to the police. After the police went to the hospital to investigate and collect evidence, they asked us to wait for the results of the investigation." The above-mentioned staff said that because they did not know who had obtained these documents, they could not hold them accountable. They could only remind those who needed to obtain the certificate to go directly to the hospital to register and obtain it, and not trust the certificate agency.

The reporter contacted another medical institution that has cooperation with Lv - Beijing Zehui Yongkang Hospital Management Co., Ltd. Yongkang Clinic. The operator stated that one must bring their ID card to the site in order to apply for a health certificate, which is priced at 96 yuan.

Sun Kexin, the director of Beijing Jiahao Law Firm, told reporters that without actual examination, a health certificate can be issued, which involves buying and selling health certificates and is considered illegal behavior. "Selling fake health certificates is suspected of fraud and constitutes a criminal offense. If the documents are genuine but have not been physically inspected, it constitutes a violation of health-related laws or administrative regulations."

In September last year, the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation released a supervision and inspection result on the health certificates of employees in catering service units in various districts. A total of 2567 catering service units were inspected, and 11 cases of illegal use of fake health certificates were investigated. 37 individuals holding fake certificates were administratively detained by the public security department.

Lv also bluntly stated that he is aware that handling the health certificate on behalf of others is a violation of regulations. "Occasionally earning extra income is fine, but if we do too much, sooner or later we will have trouble.". Therefore, he only treated it as a sideline.

Electronicization of health certificates may block loopholes in processing

Zheng Xueqian, Vice President of the Chinese Society of Health Law, stated in an interview that most service industry practitioners have a need to apply for health certificates, and their health is closely related to public health and safety. "A health certificate can prove whether employees are truly healthy and whether they can provide good services. If employees can obtain a health certificate without physical examination, there is a risk of transmission of infectious sources."

According to the Food Safety Law, food production and operation personnel engaged in direct contact with imported food should undergo annual health examinations and obtain health certificates before they can start working.

"If the intermediary providing a fake health certificate is found, they will be held legally responsible. If the intermediary does indeed 'cooperate' with the hospital, the hospital is also involved in illegal operations and is suspected of buying and selling health certificates, and they will need to bear corresponding responsibilities," said Zheng Xueqian.

To plug the loopholes in the processing of health certificates, Zheng Xueqian suggests that on the one hand, efforts can be made to promote the electronicization of health certificates. By leaving a record in the physical examination process, regulatory personnel can trace the processing process and corresponding responsible persons. On the other hand, strengthening the management of hospitals and establishing corresponding systems, for example, once it is found that hospitals engage in buying and selling health certificates, their eligibility for health certificate processing will be cancelled. At the same time, diversified supervision methods such as open reporting hotline and irregular spot checks are used to strengthen heteronomy.

Sun Kexin believes that hospitals should strengthen administrative management, and health certificate seals must be issued uniformly by designated departments, and must be based on corresponding diagnosis or examination before they can be issued. Relevant departments should also do a good job of supervision and management. "In recent years, the policy of reducing and exempting health examination fees for relevant practitioners being implemented in some places can also to some extent solve the problem of intermediary certification."

In recent years, many cities have launched free preventive medical examinations, including Chongqing, Shenzhen, Changchun, Wuhan, and others. In November last year, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission and other departments issued a notice on further reducing the cost of preventive physical examinations for employees, specifying that starting from January 1, 2023, personnel who come into contact with directly imported food and directly engage in cosmetics production will receive a reduction in the cost of preventive physical examinations.

"Free application for a health certificate, with strict registration and management systems, can indeed play a certain role in control. In addition, it is necessary to implement a real name registration system, and medical examination institutions can design a commitment signing process according to the medical examination process, and do a good job in archive management." Zheng Xueqian said.