DSI Uncovers Graft At Two State Hospitals

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DSI uncovers graft at two state hospitals

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will ask the Public Health Ministry and the Comptroller General's Department to put strict controls on the medical benefit reimbursement scheme for civil servants.

The move follows findings indicating two state hospitals in the Northeast spent an irregular amount of money on prescription antihyperlipidemics and drugs to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease.

"We found that these two drugs were not prescribed to patients under the civil servant medical scheme. They were prescribed to somebody else by hospital staff," the DSI's deputy directorgeneral Sansern Palawatwichai said.

The Comptroller General's Department found that medical spending on drugs for civil servants had jumped drastically during the past few years in these two hospitals.

The department had asked the DSI to investigate the two institutions.

The DSI's inspectors found there were no patients' signatures or fingerprints on documents that were used to receive medicine from hospital staff.

According to the Comptroller General Department's regulations, patients or their relatives had to sign or add their prints to the forms to receive drugs from doctors.

"The hospitals lack a system to carefully monitor the medical reimbursement system," Sansern said.

Some hospital staff pretended to be patients' relatives and got doctors to prescribe drugs. Some doctors asked nurses to prescribe drugs to patients.

"There is a loophole in the Comptroller General's Department regulation that allows patients' relatives to receive drugs for them," Sansern added.

The DSI also found that hospital staff in Ubon Ratchatani province had ordered medicine not on the national list of drugs including a drug to treat high cholesterol and related conditions costing Bt72 million and a drug to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease valued at Bt50 million.

After finding that several levels of hospital staff were involved with the irregularities, the DSI is now investigating to find out whether high level staff were also involved.

Sansern said the DSI would conduct investigations into 10 more state hospitals and medical schools across the country.

Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Paijit Warachit said the ministry had not received a report from DSI yet.

-- The Nation 2011-04-09

[Thaddeus]

They only found two of them, surely an indicator of lack of investigation.

[pisico]

I am shocked, I am shocked that there is graft in Thai hospitals! (Only in hospitals?)

Round up the usual suspects!

[whybother]

They only found two of them, surely an indicator of lack of investigation.

Probably a 100% success rate. They don't want to investigate more because they might find one that isn't corrupt.

[dunkin2012]

I'm bored to talk 'bout corruption in LOS..

Edited April 9, 2011 by dunkin2012

[katasyd]

Will anything be done?

Split the take with investigators and it will soon disappear.