After the vaccine scandal, now a cancer treatment scandal in China
08-May-16, Chinese Medical News
China's health minister Li Bin is keeping a very low profile throughout a string of healthcare scandals. She was invisible during the recent scandal over 2 million doses of out-of-date vaccines. Now she is also missing during the national uproar over the death of a 21-year old cancer patient Wei Zexi, who was duped into having an expensive and unproven cancer treatment at Beijing's Armed Police Corps Second Hospital.
%20Chinese%20Medical%20News.jpg "After the vaccine scandal now a cancer treatment scandal in China (c) Chinese Medical News")
Image: Chinese Medical News
As has already been widely reported, Wei found the hospital through its paid search results in Baidu. Much of the commentary so far has been around Baidu and its dependence on medical clinics for much of its paid search advertising revenue.
There has also been a lot of adverse commentary about the role of the Putian network of private hospitals. The Putian 'network' is a loose association of entrepreneurial clinics and hospitals offering 'monetiseable' services such as cosmetic surgery and fertility clinics.
Many Chinese hospitals are exploiting cancer patients by charging them hundreds of thousands of RMB for unproven and dangerous treatments. Many of these hospitals are linked to the military and are thus out of the usual health department jurisdiction. The Chinese central government has declared that the PLA will have to completely divest itself of commercial ventures such as its hospitals.