Beijing's top health care officials on Friday urged all medical staff in the capital to commit to strict self-discipline to stand firmly against corruption.

All of the 160,000 medical staff in Beijing, including doctors, nurses and hospital administrators, are called upon to take the lead in China to supply highly efficient, people-oriented and clean medical service without taking any money from appreciative patients' families, medical suppliers or tender winners.

"The anti-corruption spirit and rule should be spread to every corner of all of the hospitals in Beijing," Jin Dapeng, director of the Beijing Municipal Public Health Bureau, told a conference focused on doctors' honesty.

For the past two decades, a widespread understanding in hospitals has been that patients who pay the doctor more receive preferential care.

In order to receive the best and most timely treatment, many patients' families have to pay under-the-table.

Another widespread concern about the management of hospitals lies in their medicine.

It is common practice for some doctors to accept bribes or commission from medical companies that hope to ensure their brands receive preference when prescriptions are issued.

"Besides the regular fight against corruption, we have to admit that there are also problems in China with our hospitals' poor pay system and defective medicine-pricing system," said Mao Qun'an, spokesman for the Ministry of Health.

The health authority urged bribe-taking doctors to hand over their bribe money as soon as possible to a designated open, public bank account, which is under strict scrutiny for at least three months.

All the major hospitals in Beijing have initiated the check-and-report system to combat corruption.

Dong Bisha, Party secretary of the Cancer Institute & Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said her hospital has issued statements to all medicine contractors in order to prevent any possible iniquity in medicine purchases.

A total of 107 medicine companies have expressed commitment to the Cancer Hospital to supply quality medicine at a reasonable price.

(China Daily July 8, 2006)