China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the country’s anti-graft bureau, has released a cartoon short film titled “Corruption and Irregular Practices in the Medical Field – Cutting the ‘Prescription Data Rebates’ Chain”. The film sheds light on the current methods used by doctors within China’s healthcare system to generate rebates based on a hospital’s prescription data, emphasizing the need for increased daily oversight of key positions in hospitals, including information technology and pharmacists.
The Issue of ‘Prescription Data Rebates’
The term “prescription data rebates” refers to the practice where hospital doctors send statistical data on a hospital’s prescribing numbers to pharmaceutical company personnel in exchange for rebates on those sales. This practice capitalizes on the informatization of hospital data collection, allowing relatively senior hospital staff to illegally sell prescription data for personal gain. To address this corruption in the medical field, various hospitals have installed anti “prescription data rebates” software, but some senior figures continue to exploit system vulnerabilities and sell the data.
Regulatory Measures and Ongoing Challenges
The former National Health and Family Planning Commission released a healthcare trade ethics construction document in 2013, which strictly prohibited medical personnel from collecting data on the usage of drugs and medical consumables for commercial purposes. Despite these measures, the issue persists, highlighting the need for continuous vigilance and the strengthening of regulatory frameworks to ensure the integrity of the healthcare system.-Fineline Info & Tech
