Doctors’ case: 150 physicians interrogated

Another big scandal is maturing in domestic medicine.

Country’s leading specialists, doctors, known not only in Belarus, but as well abroad, are suspected of corruption, Narodnaja Vola reports.

Prosecutor General’s office started calling them out for conversations several months ago. As a source told charter97.org at the beginning of March, these conversations seemed more like interrogations. According to him, doctors were almost suspected of cooperating with foreign special services.

Narodnaja Vola reports of new details of the case.

“Since the beginning of the year over 150 doctors were invited for a conversation to the country Prosecutor General’s office”, - one of the interrogated doctors told. And named very famous cardiologists, oncologists, transplantologists.

According to him, the reason for such conversations was the investigation of the European antimonopoly committee. Four pharmacological companies were warned for using unfair methods in their activities in Belarus, working in lines with corruption schemes, actually bribing medical officials, heads of university sub departments, specialists, who can influence the decisions on state purchases of medicines. For the most part it is the matter of immunity suppressors, anti-tumor medicines, the price of a pack of some of which reaches one thousand United States dollars. Instead of lobbying for their interests pharmacological companies pay for doctors’ participation in different international forums and scientific conferences, place our specialists in expensive hotels, provide them with excursions and other cultural activities. As a result of such cooperation almost 3 million dollars more were allocated in 2012 than in 2011 for purchasing medicines, used in state health care system.

According to unofficial information, the companies are facing large fines, some companies even had to change the heads of their offices in Belarus. The doctors’ case has been taken over by the country Prosecutor General’s office, which in its turn has executed a monitoring of the medical sphere for spotting corruption.

So far the prosecutor office’s investigators are having conversations with doctors, medical scientists. It is not ruled out that to many of the them article 21 of the law “On fight against corruption” may be applied, which lists the violations, equated to corruption, in particular, accepting gifts or other benefits by an official for services concerning their duties. This would be criminal cases, for example according to the article “receiving illegal reward by employees of a state agency or another state organization”. The sanctions for violating such an article are serious: maximal – limitation of freedom for from 3 to five years or imprisonment for the same term.