A SENIOR health official has told hospitals and district health subbureaus to blacklist bribers, as part of the health authority's latest effort to curb commercial corruption in the sector.

"Once blacklisted, the companies will be disqualified from tendering for medicines, and medical equipment and materials in Shenzhen for two years," Jiang Hanping, director general of the city's health bureau, told a meeting attended by hospital heads Wednesday.

Commercial bribery is a major cause behind the high medical fees, Jiang acknowledged, vowing to severely punish people involved in act.

Jiang's bureau has launched a campaign from this month that targets hospital officials, doctors, as well as government employees who award contracts for money, according to the meeting.

The bureau is mulling regularly shuffling hospital heads and officials in charge of medicines, equipment and procurement, who are most likely to be bribed, in order to prevent corruption, the meeting was told.

Industry insiders say commercial bribery is widespread in many hospitals. Liu Xiao-yong, board chairman and general manager of Shum Yip Medicine Development Co. Ltd., estimated that over 10,000 sales agents promote their products in Shenzhen hospitals every day. Many sell medicines by bribing doctors, he said.

Editor: Yan