Punishments for Chinese doctors who accept kickbacks from pharma

27 December 2013

Doctors in China who take kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies or accept "red envelopes" from patients will face punishments ranging from reproach to dismissal, the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine announced in a joint circular on Thursday (December 26), reports the state news service Xinhua.

The announcement comes in the wake of allegations that various multinational pharmaceutical companies have resorted to bribery and payments to medical practitioners and government officials in order to promote sales of their drugs, and government officials are investigating companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co, Astellas, Baxter and Novartis’s Sandoz unit.

In China, doctors are banned from promoting medical ads and taking commissions for the prescription of drugs. Doctors are not allowed to accept illegal donations, nor are they allowed to purchase or use medical products, according to the circular.

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