What does Dien Bien General Hospital say about the information about 'inflating the price of kidney stone lithotripsy'?

Recently, on social networks, especially on the TikTok platform, there has been a lot of false information about the nature of the incident related to medical examination and treatment activities at Dien Bien Provincial General Hospital, seriously affecting the reputation of the collective of cadres, doctors and nurses in the provincial health sector.

Some online accounts posted and shared content claiming that Dien Bien Provincial General Hospital arbitrarily inflated the price of percutaneous nephrolithotomy services from 2 million VND to 4 million VND for profit; at the same time, spread false information about the arrest of the former hospital leader for his involvement in this incident.

On October 30, speaking with a VNA reporter, Mr. Tran Duc Nghia, Deputy Director of Dien Bien Provincial General Hospital, affirmed that this information was false and fabricated, seriously affecting the reputation and honor of the former leader as well as the hospital and the local health sector.

This incident was not systematic but only occurred in the Department of General Surgery, Dien Bien Provincial General Hospital. Individuals who committed the violations were disciplined and had to face economic consequences depending on the severity.

According to Mr. Tran Duc Nghia, this incident happened in 2020 - when Dien Bien Provincial General Hospital did not have the machinery system and technical process for extracorporeal lithotripsy.

To meet the treatment needs, the hospital has signed a contract to transfer the technique of percutaneous nephrolithotomy with Viet Duc Friendship Hospital. Due to limited facilities, the unit had to invite experts from the Central level to perform the surgery and rent specialized equipment for the surgery.

At that time, some patients voluntarily paid extra fees to pay for specialists and rent equipment to have surgery locally, without having to be transferred to Hanoi for treatment.

Mr. Hoang Cong Hinh (Muong Thanh ward, one of the patients who had undergone kidney stone lithotripsy treatment during this time) said that in August 2020, he had laser lithotripsy surgery performed by doctors from the provincial hospital and experts from Hanoi. The cost was higher than normal surgery, but he completely volunteered because it was convenient, he did not have to go to Hanoi, and it saved time, accommodation and travel costs.

Regarding this incident, the Department of Health of Dien Bien province organized an inspection team and made a record on December 31, 2020. Specifically, the General Surgery Department of the Hospital collected 960 million VND from 31 patients who used laser lithotripsy services but did not go through the Finance-Accounting Department to account according to regulations.

The results of reviewing the medical records of 31 patients showed that there was no contract or regulation on the collection amount (VND 30-35 million/patient). The Department of Surgery does not have the function of collecting and managing cash; the money collected from patients has no invoices or documents.

The General Surgery Department used the hospital's facilities and equipment to perform percutaneous nephrolithotomy for 31 patients, but collected money from the patients to cover the rental fee for the high-power laser machine to perform percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

To match the name of the technical category covered by insurance, the General Surgery Department arbitrarily listed the equivalent technical category, the difference in service price was 1,931,000 VND/case. The leaders of the General Surgery Department falsified medical records.

The inspection team requested the Hospital to refund the difference, submit the separate collected amount to the budget, and not request insurance to pay for 31 patients; at the same time, discipline the related individuals, including Mr. Le Quy Tinh (Head of General Surgery Department) and Mr. Luong Van Long (Head of General Planning Department) with a reprimand. These individuals have paid money to remedy the consequences.

Mr. Tran Duc Nghia, Deputy Director of Dien Bien Provincial General Hospital (center) answers questions about the incident with VNA reporters. (Photo: Xuan Tu/VNA)

Mr. Tran Duc Nghia affirmed that the incident had been thoroughly investigated, concluded and handled by the authorities since 2021. Currently, the hospital is operating stably, technical processes, including kidney stone lithotripsy, have been completely transferred and implemented routinely. Spreading false information is a negative behavior that needs to be corrected.

The Dien Bien provincial health sector recommends that people do not share or comment on unverified content on social networks; at the same time, it affirms that it will closely coordinate with authorities to provide accurate information and protect the reputation of medical staff./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/benh-vien-da-khoa-dien-bien-noi-gi-ve-thong-tin-nang-khong-gia-tan-soi-than-post1073947.vnp