The investigation police of the Ministry of Public Security on Monday decided to prosecute four doctors and one technician on charges of abuse of power . . .

The investigation police of the Ministry of Public Security on Monday decided to prosecute four doctors and one technician on charges of abuse of power in a case involving phony health insurance cards and medical prescriptions that was uncovered last June.

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The technician, Bui Xuan Chien, works in the anesthesia department at General Hospital in Thu Duc District.

The doctors charged in the case are Pham Minh Hung of the internal medicine department at General Hospital in Thu Duc District; Hoang Van Tien of the dialysis department at General Hospital in Thong Nhat District in Dong Nai Province; Luu Quoc Bao of the emergency department at Binh Phuoc Province General Hospital; and Nguyen Son Lam, a general practitioner at Dong Nai Children’s Hospital.

According to the police, intern Luu Thi Lieu, 26, an employee at Nhat Tien Pharmaceutical Co Ltd in HCM City, asked technician Chien to obtain health insurance cards and phony hospital transfer documents from doctors.

In Viet Nam, health insurance cards specify the use of one hospital only, and if the patients need to receive treatment elsewhere, a hospital transfer document must be signed by a doctor.

Chien received VND1 million from Lieu for each card and document, and shared VND500,000-800,000 of that with doctors Lam and Hung.

Lam paid Dr Tien VND15 million for 49 health insurance cards and fake hospital transfer documents. Hung received eight health insurance cards and fake hospital transfer documents from Dr Bao, the police said.

With these health insurance cards and fake hospital transfer documents obtained from Lieu, Luu To Lan, 41, doctor of the Cho Ray Hospital’s endocrinology department, wrote 104 prescriptions for drugs, appropriating more than VND400 million (US$21,052) from health insurance companies, according to the police.

Lan was arrested in June last year on charges of writing more than 1,040 fake prescriptions between January and April. The prescriptions were valued at VND3.536 billion ($198,763), of which VND3.358 billion ($188,757) was paid by the health insurance companies. The remaining amount was paid by the patients.

The pharmaceutical company intern Lieu and five other people, including several doctors and hospital personnel, were arrested late last year for their involvement in the case.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News