Hoan Cau Clinic is accused of 'faking illness to extort money', forcing patient to have abortion for 29.8 million VND

On the morning of August 25, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong said that the department had just strictly handled the Hoan Cau General Clinic (address 80 - 82 Chau Van Liem, Cho Lon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) for signs of "faking illnesses and extorting money", the offending doctor had 2 practice certificates.

This is one of the clinics on the "blacklist" of the inspection and legal department because it has repeatedly violated and failed to comply with legal regulations, seriously affecting the rights, health and safety of patients.

According to recent feedback from people via the hotline of the Department of Health's inspection and legal department, Hoan Cau General Clinic has signs of "faking illnesses and extorting money".

Initially, the patient was advised to have a low-cost abortion, but during the procedure, when they felt pain, they were asked to switch to a premium service package at a cost of VND29.8 million.

On August 21, the Department of Health's inspection and legal department, along with obstetrics, surgery and dermatology experts from city hospitals, coordinated with the People's Committee of Cho Lon ward to inspect the multidisciplinary clinic of Hoan Cau Medical Services One Member Co., Ltd. at the above address.

During the inspection, the team discovered that the clinic provided medical examination and treatment services beyond its scope of expertise (abortion at 7 weeks and 5 days) and advertised in violation of regulations.

According to the report of Dr. NTN (the person who performed the vacuum aspiration abortion), the pre-anesthetic drug Seduxen was used but was not recorded in the medical record, and the prescription did not match the information the patient provided to the inspection and legal department.

In addition, according to records kept at the Department of Health of Binh Duong province (old), Dr. NTN was found to have 2 certificates of practice in medical examination and treatment with the scope of professional activities being medical examination and treatment of obstetrics and family planning. These certificates were issued by the Department of Health of Hai Phong City on October 15, 2013 and the Department of Health of Hanoi City on April 12, 2019.

On June 16, 2023, the Hanoi Department of Health inspected and suspended the technical professional activities of doctor NTN for performing medical examinations and treatments beyond the scope of professional activities (certificate issued by the Hanoi Department of Health).

In October 2023, this doctor used a practice certificate issued by the Hai Phong City Department of Health to perform an abortion at 21 weeks and 6 days at a general clinic in Binh Duong province (old).

The Department of Inspection and Legal Affairs of the Department of Health continues to invite the company, doctor NTN and related individuals to clarify the incident, compile documents and strictly handle administrative violations according to the law, and at the same time publicize the results on the Department of Health's electronic information portal.