Medical representatives uncover the price of medical equipment

The high price of medical devices has always been a major reason why people are expensive. However, what factors have led to the high prices of medicines and medical devices? At present, the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Zhenzhou Runzhou District Prosecutor's Office has investigated and dealt with a bribery case against the unit. From this we can "see a glimpse of the reasons for the high price of medical equipment."

Just debuted and encountered business "Waterloo"

In 2001, the criminal suspect Zhang and the nephew together registered Zhenjiang Zhongda Medical Devices Co., Ltd. to engage in the sale of medical devices. Later, due to poor management, the nephew withdrew from the company.

“Talk about the reasons for the company’s poor management at the time.” The prosecutor in the interrogation room asked “indifferent” and handed Zhang a piece of ignited “Huangguoshu” smoke.

Zhang took the cigarette and looked at it in his mouth. “At that time, we had just entered the medical device industry and the work was very hard. Every day we went to the hospital departments to sell medicine equipment to doctors. People simply ignored us. It was sometimes called out. Sometimes, in order to please the doctors, they often buy fruits and breakfast to please them, but even if this is still bleak business." Zhang smoked a cigarette hard, "I did not insist on how long my nephew quit, I took over his The shares continued to operate, rented an office in Dantu New District and registered the company under the name of his wife, Wang.”

Unspoken rules, one waking dreamer

“It took two or three years to be so gloomy. Once I went to a hospital to check out and ran for many times without getting medicine. People asked me contemptuously: 'You have been in this industry for several years. Isn’t it still? Knowing the rules? 'When I came back, I was puzzled and asked the good medical representatives who had done business. After they had just given them, they knew exactly what was going on." Having said this, Zhang made a thumb and index finger and made a count of money. action.

In 2004, Zhang was introduced by a middleman and met Zhuang, a head nurse of a hospital in Zhenjiang. After the two had negotiated a rebate of 1 yuan each, Zhang sold 4,500 A-type protective cords to the obstetrics and gynecology department of the hospital. Later, Zhang met Liu, a director of brain surgery at a hospital, and after reaching an agreement of 2,000 yuan per rebate, he sold four "ventricle shunts" to the hospital. Since then, Zhang's business has been "prosperous."

"Every time I check out cash, I use cash to give kickbacks on the spot." The criminal suspect Zhang confessed. "Later, after being introduced by others and I constantly made connections, I gradually came to know the leadership of many hospitals, department directors. These people can directly decide to use drugs that I do not need to use. The company's business has been carried out smoothly as I continue to woo public relations."

Insiders, revealing the high price of the black curtain

"Why did you give those hospital rebates?" asked the prosecutor.

"There are so many manufacturing companies now, and everyone's product quality is not much different. What does it mean for people's doctors to use your equipment? Naturally, they have to give kickbacks to commissions." The criminal suspect Zhang "plumbling bamboo beans" like Proposal to the case prosecutor, "Some medicines give a rebate of 10%, and some equipment rebates are even higher. For example, the titanium plate titanium needle that I sold to a dental department of a hospital in Zhenjiang is a rebate of 10% of the total price. After the rebate ratio was set, it was generally unchanged. From May 2006 to December 2009, when I supplied an analgesic pump to a hospital, I paid a rebate of 50 yuan per analgesic pump to the hospital. The anesthesiologist paid a refund of 173,000 yuan. The money was given to Xiaomou, the deputy director of the Department of Anesthesiology. I paid the deduction to the head of the anesthesiology department from June 2011 to August 2011, and I followed the same rebate standard. given."

“What is the price of these equipment hospitals sold to patients?” the prosecutor continued.

“Different drugs and equipment are different, but in this industry, the retail price is 200% or 300% higher than the cost price, and some are even higher. The intermediate increments are in circulation, and they are also called For example, the analgesic pump that I sell, after it leaves the factory, it has to go through three links: distributor, divisional agent, and medical equipment company to get to the hospital. Make money! Plus the hospital also has a piece of profit, so that the natural price of the device medicine has reached many times in the hands of the patient.” The criminal suspect Zhang “Jia Zhen” tells these little-known insiders. .

Under the questioning of the prosecutor, Zhang truthfully confessed his crimes. After investigation by the procuratorate, the criminal suspect Zhang has sold medical equipment such as analgesic pumps to six hospitals in the area under the jurisdiction of Zhenjiang City since 2004, and has given doctors and hospitals a total of 1.75 million yuan in rebates. The crime of bribery of the unit has been initiated by the Public Prosecution Office of Runzhou District, and other related persons have also been punished in varying degrees.

Prosecutor said case

Eradicating the high price of drugs and equipment to ease the "costly visit"

Medical problems involve the national economy, the people's livelihood, and millions of households. It has not been known how many families have returned from poverty through poor health. I do not know how many people are rushing to the abyss of crimes in order to raise medical expenses. Although the state has intensified the establishment of a basic medical security system and achieved certain results in recent years, the problem of expensive medical treatment has still not been effectively solved, and the high price of pharmaceutical equipment is a major unfavorable factor. In connection with this case, we have found that there are loopholes in the pricing mechanism, production and circulation links, supervision and procurement management of pharmaceutical equipment, which leads to black chain of interests and high prices.

"The use of drugs for medical treatment" is the root cause. At present, the state finances have invested less in the medical industry, and most hospitals rely on self-support and self-support. While hospitals must maintain operations and achieve development, it is inevitable that medical equipment with high profit and rebates will be selected. In order to complete the task, the hospital will also give doctors a target. Under such a mechanism, doctors and hospitals will seek to maximize profits.

The intermediate circulation of pharmaceutical equipment is also an important factor in high prices. Drug equipment from the factory to the patient to purchase, in the middle need to go through multi-level agents and hospitals, each layer of agents in order to obtain profits and overweight, the hospital to achieve profits and increase prices, after this "stacking", the price is naturally high No less.

The imperfect use of medication mechanisms has led to vicious competition among drug dealers. Some drug dealers enter the hospital to make their own medicines and become "prescriptions" written by doctors. They compete improperly, and the cost of rent-seeking is ultimately passed on to the patients by increasing the prices of drug devices.

After completing the case, the procuratorial agency submitted a procuratorial advice to the health department and related hospitals to improve the pricing and procurement system of pharmaceutical equipment and to cut off the drug search space; to reduce the intermediate circulation of drug equipment, to strengthen law enforcement supervision, and to prevent drug manufacturers from Right competition; liberalization of access to non-public hospitals, competition between hospitals and drug retailers to sell drugs, and the use of full market competition to force medical prices down.