Information related to the case of falsely claiming laser lithotripsy services at the Central Highlands General Hospital

On the morning of September 18, Dak Lak Department of Health informed about violations in medical examination and treatment activities at the Department of Nephrology and Urology, Central Highlands General Hospital.

Specifically, the Central Highlands General Hospital has 1 laser lithotripsy machine and this machine has been broken since November 2023 until the time of inspection (July 18, 2025). However, the reported data at the Department of Surgery - Anesthesia and Resuscitation still recorded the number of laser lithotripsy cases performed in 2024 as 480 cases, of which 255 cases were not performed with laser lithotripsy but were still declared in the medical records as a technical service of Endoscopic Laser Lithotripsy.

Director of Health Department Nay Phi La spoke about the incident.

Director of the Central Highlands General Hospital Nguyen Dang Giap said: The hospital's lithotripsy machine broke down in November 2023, then it was sent for repair and another one was borrowed. However, the borrowed machine also broke down again. During this time, doctors performed other procedures such as removing stones, but declared that they used a laser lithotripsy machine. The two services have different costs, and the hospital is currently reviewing 255 records to check the patient's stone condition.

Reporter Vu Nam Trang (VOV Tay Nguyen) asked questions at the information session about the incident.

Immediately after discovering the incident, on July 30, 2025, the hospital established a professional council to evaluate and impose disciplinary action on the four individuals involved. In particular, a warning was applied to Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoang, former Head of the Department of Surgery - Nephrology.

Disciplinary reprimand was applied to three other individuals, including: Mr. Le Xuan Vinh, Deputy Head of the Department of Surgery - Nephrology; Ms. Tran Thi Kim Oanh, Head Nurse of the Department of Surgery - Nephrology; Mr. Bui Ngoc Duc, Head of the Department of Surgery, Anesthesia and Resuscitation.

At the same time, transfer the file to the police and insurance agency to clarify the matter.

Deputy Director of the Central Highlands General Hospital Le Ka Thuy informed about the incident.

According to Director of the Department of Health Nay Phi La, this is a serious incident. The Department will seriously learn from the experience and will have a form of handling according to the specific level of violation of each individual.

“For now, we will admit our mistakes to the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Committee and wait for the conclusions of the investigation agency. After that, we will continue to advise the Department of Home Affairs and Provincial People's Committee to handle the Board of Directors and Director of the Regional General Hospital as well as the Board of Directors and Director of the Department of Health. For patients assigned to perform professional techniques, in principle, the Regional General Hospital must visit the patient and continue to treat the patient completely. Regarding expertise, the Department will continue to assign the Professional Council and the Scientific Council to review and re-evaluate. If there are any professional errors, the individual will be criticized and must apologize to the patient,” Dr. Nay Phi La affirmed.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/y-te-suc-khoe/202509/thong-tin-lien-quan-vu-viec-ke-khong-dich-vu-tan-soi-laser-tai-benh-vien-da-khoa-vung-tay-nguyen-1340ef4/