Call for crackdown as 'black' clinics flourish
Illegal 'back street' clinics are thriving
in many urban and rural areas despite law enforcement authorities'
prohibitions, a Xinhua investigation has found. A survey has shown that the
success of illegal clinics is being driven by high profits and demand from a
mobile population and lack of medical services in many rural and peripheral
urban areas. Law enforcement is weak and this is the main reason for the persistence
of illegal medical practice, and the resulting incidents that have occurred,
according to the Xinhua investigation. Illegal practice
"chronic illness" urgent by raising the cost of illegal, optimizing
allocation of medical resources, the formation of regulatory efforts to cure
such manner.
A reporter found a wide variety of
covert and rampant illegal medical practices in new development zones
where migrant workers gather, .
In these black clinics, the office "doctor" operates
without registration and charges only one-tenth the price of formal medical
institutions. Reporters followed law enforcement officers investigating an illegal pharmacy whose owner
was administering injections for fevers, colds and flu. The owner said he saw
dozens of patients a day and charged ten yuan for IV fluid infusions whereas
the regular clinic injection fluid needs more than 100 yuan,
Law enforcement
personnel, say the black clinics offer cheap but often counterfeit or
substandard drugs. They also do not ensure sterilization and use cheap and
substandard medical equipment and other necessary supplies, which are very
profitable for them. The majority of illegal medical practitioners have no
formal medical education, and are likely to provide incorrect diagnosis,
resulting in patient injury or even death. Nevertheless, their low
costs and ease of access means these illegal practices are used by the general
population with limited financial resources and fixed residence.
Law enforcement against illegal medical
clinics is a big headache.
as the
offenders play cat and mouse with the health authorities and Public Security
Bureau. When a clinic is detected, investigated, prosecuted and closed down,
another will soon spring up nearby. Despite repeated penalties, the clinics are
difficult to monitor and can soon re-emerge as they have low costs and law
enforcement is weak. Staff shortages in health authorities are very common, and
in one district two law enforcement officers are responsible for the
supervision and inspection of hundreds of dispensaries, medical institutions,
as well as infectious disease monitoring, disinfection products and supervision
work.
Grass-roots law
enforcement officials say China's current laws and regulations on penalties for
illegal medical practice do not form a sufficient deterrent. Penalties for the
illegal practice of medicine are less than 100,000 yuan. These fines are too
low to deter highly profitable black practices, where illegal
practitioners dare to take the risk.
Recently, the State Development Planning Commission, Ministry of
Public Security and other six ministries jointly launched a special action to
combat illegal medical practices. The law enforcement and public
security program will to develop a long-term mechanism to increase the
penalties for illegal practice and also boost judicial deterrence. Meanwhile,
adjustments in regional health planning will encourage and attract formal
medical institutions to enter the urban-rural interface, new development zones.
Migrant workers will have access to more flexible health insurance policies,
and improvements will be made in the level of community medical services in
rural areas, for disadvantaged groups.
Source: Xinhua
Guangdong child has H7N9 bird flu
The boy, a Sichuan-born native living in a
village in Dongguan City, tested positive for the virus at the Dongguan City
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This followed routine monitoring of
flu-like cases in Changping Hospital on Monday afternoon and was confirmed by
the provincial CDC yesterday morning, Guangdong Province Health and Family
Planning Commission said. It is the third H7N9 case confirmed this autumn in
China, following two infections in Zhejiang Province on October 15 and 23. The
boy is receiving treatment in isolation at the People’s Hospital of Dongguan
City. He is in a stable condition without fever, while other flu-like symptoms
he has are not serious, said officials. Meanwhile, on Monday, the National
Health and Family Planning Commission announced that it is including H7N9 in
its infectious disease reporting system. This will enable better monitoring,
prevention and control of this potentially fatal disease, the commission said.
As the live poultry industry — a source of
transmission — is still widespread and winter and spring are peak seasons
for respiratory infections, experts expect more cases. China’s mainland had
reported 134 H7N9 bird flu cases by the end of August, resulting in 45
fatalities.
Source: Shanghai Daily
No more transplant organs from executed prisoners
China is putting a stop to its widely
criticised practice of using the organs of executed prisoners in medical
transplants. The practice is being phased out from November. Senior official
Huang Jiefu, from the National Health and Family Planning Commission, announced
a resolution that’s to improve China’s organ transplant system.
Under this, 169 Chinese hospitals currently
licensed for transplant procedures, must ensure the organs come from ethical
sources. And related organizations are to work together under the China Organ
Transplant Response System, or COTRS, to allocate the organs "equitably
and transparently".
COTRS is a computer system that allocates
organs based on medical urgency and time spent on the waiting list. The
resolution also sets out a timetable for reviews, and hospitals and doctors who
do not follow the regulations will have their license revoked.
Source: CNTV
Strict new quarantine rules for cholera
a move to prevent the spread of cholera,
China's quality watchdog said on Wednesday that local authorities must
implement medical inspections and disinfection routines on persons and vehicles
from countries with cholera.
From September to October29 this year, Mexico
reported 176 cholera cases causing one death. The virus found in a Mexican
patient was similar to that in Haiti, Dominica and Cuba, according to a recent
World Health Organization report. The General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said people who have been to
those countries and have symptoms such as vomitting and diarrhea should inform
local AQSIQ bureaus immediately. Travellers in these countries should
avoid possible contaminated water and food. In addition, the AQSIQ requires
local bureaus to intensify inspections and make medical treatment a priority on
any patients infected with cholera.
Source: China Daily
Liver disease a problem for Taiwan
Every
year in Taiwan 13,000 people die of liver disease, and one person dies of
liver cancer every 40 minutes according to the "Liver
Foundation"
At a
press conference to promote "Save the liver" program, survey results from the Liver
Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation showed that one in five people in
Taiwan are hepatitis carriers, and 64% of patients do not know they are
infected. The Liver Foundation has since
2007 been promoting the "Save the liver" township screening
program, and now has Taiwan 4890 outlets, through which the free screening
services are offered for early detection and treatment.
Source: Beijing Daily News
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