Pregnant patients suspect doctors at a Shenzhen hospital are prescribing superfluous health supplements in return for kickbacks, reports Shenzhen Online.

Several patients have complained that maternity doctors at the Bao’an Women’s Health and Pediatric Hospital have uniformly prescribed the same health supplements for purchase at a temporary structure located next to the entrance of the hospital.

On May 12, Ms Li had an examination at the hospital, and was told to purchase two types of health supplements. When she went again on May 25 to have another examination, she was told the same thing and given the same prescription.

When Li went to purchase the supplements at this pharmacy/medical product store, she wanted to use her medical insurance card to pay for them. However, Li was told that the pharmacy is not part of the hospital system, and that using her medical insurance to pay for the products was not possible. When Li requested a a receipt for the products, she was only given a computer stub.

The total cost of the health supplements cost RMB 564.

Mrs Chen also told of having the same experience with the hospital and spoke about her fear of offending the doctor:

For me not to accept the doctor’s proposal is to risk offending him. [I] am worried that he will withhold information during any other subsequent examinations [I have] with him.

Li says it’s obvious this “pharmacy” is not an official part of the hospital, although the sales staff wear white coats and provide receipt stubs with the name of the hospital stamped on them. Li suspects the doctors are getting kickbacks from the prescriptions.

Upon the first visit made by a reporter with Shenzhen Online, a Dr Zhang with the maternity ward confirmed that the “pharmacy is officially a part of the hospital”. However, a subsequent interview with Lin Haibo, the director of medical residency at the Bao’an Women’s Health and Pediatric Hospital, revealed something else entirely.

Lin said that the pharmacy is not part of the hospital, but an independent operation that is rented and operated out by a private organization. Lin said patients may voluntarily go to buy products there, but that the pharmacy has nothing to do with the hospital despite being located on its grounds.

When asked why this pharmacy had the hospital’s name on the prescription and receipt stub, Lin had no answer.

Photo: SZ Online