On July 30th, the leading Chinese medical examination industry giant, health management institution iKang Guobin, responded to the highly-publicized “Female Lawyer Diagnosed with Late-Stage Kidney Cancer Despite Normal Check-ups for Ten Years” incident. However, after the meeting, a comment made by iKang’s founder, Chairman, and CEO Zhang Ligang saying, “Don’t expect a few hundred yuan of physical examination to detect all diseases,” quickly sparked controversy on the internet, causing a huge uproar.
The statement of “Don’t expect a few hundred yuan of physical examination to detect all diseases” has triggered widespread discussion in the society after being spread by the media, with external criticism questioning the value of medical examinations. On the evening of July 30th, iKang Group issued an urgent clarification statement, stating that the related content was “maliciously taken out of context and distorted in meaning,” severely damaging iKang Group’s reputation.
According to the video of Zhang Ligang’s speech released by iKang, he mentioned that during the meeting, he pointed out that medical examinations and medical treatments are different. If medical examinations are done in the same way as medical treatments, it might take one or two days to complete the examination, and it is definitely not the cost that enterprises are willing to pay for today. If medical examinations are demanded to conduct a comprehensive check-up as with medical treatments, it would be very expensive, and no one would be willing to pay for physical examinations.
He said, “When you go to the hospital to seek treatment for a specific disease, how much money do you expect to spend for diagnosis? When you are hoping that a few hundred yuan of a physical examination can detect all diseases, but diagnosing a single disease might cost thousands or even millions, do you think such a situation exists?” Zhang Ligang believes that there are many misunderstandings about medical examinations among the public and hopes that this incident will lead to a clear definition of the boundaries between medical examinations and medical treatment in the medical field.
Tianyancha shows that iKang Guobin was established in September 2004, with Li Zhi as the legal representative and a registered capital of 50 million yuan, engaged in hospital management, enterprise management, health consultation services, medical device internet information services, and more. Records indicate that in April this year, the company changed its legal representative and executives.
Subsidiaries of iKang Guobin such as Beijing iKang Guobin Baiyun Hospital Co., Ltd., Beijing iKang Guobin Xine Outpatient Clinic Co., Ltd., have been involved in medical disputes.
The catalyst of this public outcry stems from a report titled “Female Lawyer Not Warned of ‘Cancer Risk’ in Ten Years of Physical Exams, Diagnosed with Late-Stage Kidney Cancer” According to the report, Beijing practicing lawyer Zhang Xiaoling had undergone physical examinations at iKang Guobin for ten years without any cancer risk being detected, only to be diagnosed with “clear cell renal cell carcinoma” in 2024. Zhang Xiaoling believes that iKang Guobin has issues of missed and misdiagnosed cases and publicly questions the authenticity of its physical examinations.
Facing the accusations, iKang Guobin stated in the press conference that they have filed a lawsuit on this matter, and the court has officially accepted the case. Zhang Xiaoling responded to iKang Guobin’s lawsuit by saying, “Welcome the lawsuit, looking forward to it.”
Previously, iKang had issued two statements expressing willingness to accept appraisal from third-party authoritative organizations and take responsibility for all consequences under the law. Zhang Ligang also criticized Ms. Zhang during the press conference.
Zhang Ligang also mentioned that physical examinations cannot predict all cancers and cannot replace specialized medical treatments. The significance of physical examinations lies in helping to detect potential warning signals through scientific examinations and providing suggestions for further diagnosis to seek in-depth examinations from specialized doctors in a timely manner. He emphasized that physical examinations are “random and opportunistic checks”, and whether diseases can be detected depends on the “coincidence” of the timing and methods of the examinations.
During the press conference, iKang Guobin responded to the external reference of “more than 1,000 complaints on the Black Cat Complaints Platform against iKang” by stating that out of all complaints, only 30 were truly related to medical services, accounting for 2.5%.