Medical Service
The demand for medical and healthcare products and services has significantly increased in recent years, and the quality of these products and services remains a key public concern. Practitioners of the medical and healthcare industries should maintain high integrity standards for ensuring service and product quality, as well as sustaining their goodwill, public trust and competitive edge in the market.
The Private Sector Integrity Centre (PSIC) offers anti-corruption and integrity training to help practitioners remain vigilant to corruption risks and uphold high integrity standards. We also provide corruption prevention advisory services and practical resources to help professions and companies strengthen safeguards and foster an ethical culture.
Corruption Risks
- Accepting gifts from patients in defiance of the policies or guidelines of the respective medical institutions.
- Accepting advantages from patients in return for assisting them in securing earlier appointments.
- Accepting advantages from patients in exchange for preferential treatment.
- Soliciting or coercing patients to pay bribes to ensure proper treatment.
- Using false medical receipts to charge patients unnecessary or inflated fees for services, tests or medication.
- Misappropriating all or part of service fees by fabricating appointment or service records.
- Misleading patients into making payments for services that should be provided free of charge.
- Falsifying medical or patient records to justify billing, conceal malpractice, or inflate performance indicators.
- Colluding with patients to submit fraudulent claims for medical expenses or sick leave by issuing false medical certificates to their employers.
- Conspiring with policyholders or insurance intermediaries to submit fraudulent insurance claims supported by fabricated medical reports.
- Providing medical services to ineligible persons to fraudulently obtain government subsidies.
- Accepting advantages in exchange for disclosing patient data to salespersons or insurance intermediaries for marketing purposes.
- Accepting rebates from pharmaceutical or medical device companies in return for recommending their drugs or equipment.
- Accepting commissions or referral fees for directing patients to designated laboratories.
- Accepting advantages in exchange for referring patients for unnecessary tests or to specific specialists.
- Accepting sponsorships from pharmaceutical or medical device companies to attend overseas conferences in return for recommending their products or services.
- Accepting advantages from suppliers for assisting them in securing contracts (e.g. by leaking prices of other bidders).
- Accepting advantages from suppliers in exchange for helping them inflate the prices of medical products or conniving at substandard quality.
- Stealing medicines or medical equipment for resale.
- Tampering with stock or inventory records to conceal misappropriation of medical supplies.
- Accepting advantages in return for hiring or promoting unqualified individuals.
- Accepting advantages from subordinates in exchange for assigning favorable shifts or duties.
- Accepting advantages from subordinates for giving favourable performance appraisals.
- Colluding with other staff members to falsify attendance records in order to inflate wages, overtime allowances or other benefits.
- Prioritising family members, friends or associates over ordinary patients when providing services or granting them preferential treatment.
- Referring patients for medical check-ups to a private medical centre in which you have a personal financial interest.
- Recommending drugs or medical supplies represented by personal friends or relatives to hospitals or clinics.
- Approving tenders or quotations submitted by relatives or close friends.
- Prioritising private patients over public patients when practising in both sectors.
Resources
Integrity Training
The Private Sector Integrity Centre (PSIC) offers free anti-corruption and integrity training to help hospital and medical institutions build an ethical corporate culture and prevent corruption and fraud.
PSIC organises webinars on the “PSIC Channel” for business practitioners across various sectors and industries. Click here to view details of the upcoming webinars and enroll now!
User-friendly e-learning materials are available:
“Integrity in Practice” Online Guide for Medical Professionals
PSIC provides free, tailor-made training for medical and healthcare service practitioners.
Please contact us if you wish to arrange integrity and corruption prevention training.
