Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University bribery scandal involves 1.84 billion yuan

Staff at the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University have been implicated in a massive corruption scandal involving 46 instances of bribery over an 11-year period. The total amount involved is estimated at 1.84 billion yuan.

Investigations revealed that more than 30 pharmaceutical and medical device companies provided bribes to hospital personnel. Among those implicated, 11 companies, including Hebei Xiang'en Medical Device Trading Co., Ltd., were charged with unit bribery. Hebei Xiang'en specifically provided 20.64 million yuan in bribes to sell medical consumables at inflated prices.

The bribery primarily concerned over 30 types of medical consumables, such as intraocular lenses, drug-eluting stent systems, and rapid exchange balloon dilation catheters, totaling approximately 174 million yuan in bribes. Additionally, bribes totaling about 10 million yuan were linked to 10 types of drugs, including naproxen sodium injections and olacetam injections.

The case follows previous revelations regarding kickbacks for stents at the hospital. This investigation aligns with the National Healthcare Security Administration’s 2020 initiative to establish a credit evaluation system for pharmaceutical pricing and procurement to ensure compliant business practices.