Inflated medicine prices have stirred heated public discussions and raised complaints. Some pharmaceutical representatives say medicine prices are high because every party in the profit chain has agreed to raise them to earn more profits, while others allege the majority of profits go to doctors in kickbacks, says an article China Youth Daily. Excerpts:

The closer to the grassroots a hospital is, the less corrupt its doctors are likely to be. This is because in most small hospitals, directors have the connections with pharmaceutical representatives and thus strike all the deals, while many of the doctors are compelled to use medicines of domestic companies, which are not considered as effective as those made by foreign firms.

Though doctors in such hospitals are aware that kickbacks are paid for almost every medicine prescribed, they have no idea who takes them.

But many doctors in public hospitals, despite having the opportunity to earn kickbacks, are more willing to earn better salaries by using their medical skill and service in order to live a decent life. Many doctors prefer living a life of honesty and dignity to losing their integrity and suffering mental torture by taking kickbacks for prescribing more high-priced medicines.

The problem is that since the salaries of medical personnel in China are relatively low, many doctors try to strike a balance between professional ethics and material gains. China's health care reform will not succeed without improving doctors' social and economic status.

The authorities should listen to what doctors have to say and involve them in the health care reform. After all, doctors can help with their personal experiences and constructive suggestions to make the reform more meaningful.

Also, the current situation in which most doctors prefer to remain silent instead of proving their innocence when faced with kickback scandals reflects the deteriorating working environment, and their despair should not be allowed to continue.

(China Daily 12/02/2011 page9)