Recently, worrying trends have emerged in frontline medical care in mainland China. Due to the ban or halt of some imported medical consumables and equipment under the pressure of medical insurance policies and centralized procurement, many top-tier hospitals’ neurosurgeons have openly stated that surgical standards are regressing. This has resulted in increased burdens on patients and even posed life-threatening risks. Concurrently, several internationally renowned medical equipment manufacturers have announced their withdrawal from the Chinese market, further exacerbating this crisis.
Following the exclusion of a large number of imported original drugs from the medical insurance list by the Chinese authorities, patients’ drug efficacy has been affected. Many complain that domestically produced drugs have inferior effects. Additionally, restrictions on the import of medical equipment and imported drugs into operating rooms have directly impacted surgical outcomes. A neurosurgeon at a top-tier hospital, Dr. Xu, revealed on social media that the widely used brain ventricular drainage tubes, previously priced at around 600 yuan per set with anti-reflux and metal cores, suitable for minimally invasive surgery under local anesthesia, are now completely unavailable due to medical insurance bans and hospital stockouts. The minimally invasive drainage surgery under local anesthesia, which used to take only 30 minutes to complete, must now be switched to general anesthesia with low-cost tubes lacking anti-reflux functions.
On September 4th, Dr. Xu wrote in the comments section, “Patients who used to spend 3,000 yuan for a local anesthesia procedure now have to pay at least 8,000 yuan for general anesthesia, enduring longer suffering. Moreover, the inferior tubes that lack anti-reflux properties easily lead to intracranial infections, increasing treatment costs by at least an additional 30,000 yuan.”
He also mentioned that during a cerebral hemorrhage surgery, he faced a dilemma due to the lack of a stereotactic drainage tube. Only by using the last remaining inventory in the department barely completed the surgery. He lamented helplessly, “It’s hard for even a clever housewife to cook without rice, doctors truly deserve this hardship!”
Not only neurosurgical consumables, but more imported drugs and medical equipment are also disappearing from mainland Chinese hospitals. Some doctors and patients express that high-end products they relied on are gradually being replaced by lower-cost alternatives, leading to increased quality and safety risks.
A salesperson for a French medical equipment company in Hubei, Ms. Zhong, told a reporter on September 5th that many hospitals have ceased transactions with their company for medical equipment and devices: “From last year until now, the projects we had with partner hospitals are on hold, with the reason being no more imports allowed, only domestic products can be used. But how can domestic equipment match the advanced quality of French products?”
Ms. Zhong pointed out that China’s sudden halt in purchasing foreign products has resulted in massive layoffs in many healthcare companies in China: “Our company has laid off numerous employees, reducing the sales personnel by 80%.”
According to a report by Caixin on July 7th, starting from July 6th, new restrictions were imposed on the procurement of medical equipment projects by the Chinese government: the procurement amount of medical equipment shall not exceed 50% of the total contract amount. This measure does not apply if only EU imported products can meet the demand. Projects that have already issued bid-winning or transaction results announcements before the implementation of the new regulations can continue to sign contracts without being affected by the new rules.Industry insiders believe that the main categories significantly affected by this policy are high-end medical equipment, including artificial organs and functional support devices, extracorporeal circulation devices, and some high-end interventional and implantable high-value consumables.
Furthermore, Dr. Xu disclosed that in another surgery for a cerebral hematoma, he faced a dilemma without a stereotactic drainage tube and was able to barely complete the surgery by relying on the last store of one. He helplessly exclaimed, “Even for a talented woman, it’s impossible to cook without rice, doctors truly deserve this hardship!”
Not only are neurosurgical consumables affected in this manner, but more imported drugs and medical equipment are also disappearing from mainland Chinese hospitals. Some doctors and patients indicate that high-end products they relied on are gradually being replaced by lower-cost alternatives, leading to increased quality and safety risks.
The Chinese medical self-media platform “Health Know” reported last year that the internationally renowned orthopedic equipment manufacturer, Zimmer Biomet, failed in several spine procurement projects in China, planning to withdraw its spine-related business entirely from China. This indicates that in the future, it will be increasingly difficult to find related imported products in the mainland Chinese market.
Medical experts point out that in recent years, the Chinese mainland medical system has vigorously promoted centralized procurement and cost control within medical insurance. In practice, some high-quality imported consumables are being excluded, and hospitals, under cost pressures, have no choice but to discontinue their use and clinical physicians are forced to adopt alternatives. While initially reducing the cost of individual medical devices in the short term, this ultimately leads to patients paying higher economic and health costs.
Mr. Chen, a resident of Shanghai, complained to reporters, “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to seek medical treatment, and the quality of medications is deteriorating. Ordinary people simply can’t afford healthcare anymore. A few days ago, I went to the hospital with a cold and fever. Although I have medical insurance, the hospital asked me to undergo a comprehensive examination, costing me an additional 1,300 yuan, with most of it being attributed to examination fees.”
Industry insiders are concerned that if the restrictions on imported drugs, medical equipment, and surgical consumables by the authorities are not lifted, over the long term, some surgical procedures in China may regress, leading to a decline in high-end medical standards.