Linking prescriptions to income

May 15, 2007

It’s rampant in China. An antibiotic injection for a cold?

In China, the network of state-run hospitals calls the shots. Because doctors and hospitals rely on prescription drugs to boost their income, it is difficult for insurers to manage costs.

Recently, Xiao Ming, 29 years old, brought her feverish three-year-old son to see the doctor at a small hospital in Jiangsu province that derives most of its revenue from drug sales. Dr. Zhu Bin told her the boy probably had a bad cold and sold her an antibiotic injection for 17 yuan.



Related posts:

  1. Is the economy giving physicians the upper hand in hospital negotiations?
  2. Write 200 prescriptions for a car
  3. My take: Sharing prescriptions, saving money, adherence programs
  4. Op-ed: Pads, pens, prescriptions
  5. Bullet in the head, part 2
  6. Forging prescriptions
  7. De-linking employer-based health insurance


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Tagged as: drugs, hospital

{ 2 comments }

1 Anonymous May 15, 2007 at 10:53 am

Guess what’s gonna happen at your local Wal Mart doc-in-a-box clinic?

Coming to a town near you.

2 Anonymous May 15, 2007 at 6:22 pm

I’m pretty sure that Japan uses a system where docs get paid for each script they write.

No coincidence that Japan is the only nation in the world were docs make MORE money than the USA. I believe their avg income is something like 200k compared to 150k average for the states.

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