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Article

1 Aug 2006

Author:
Apple Daily [Hong Kong, China]

BUPA accused of applying restrictions in its contracts with private doctors, posing serious risks to patients’ health [China]

[Original article in Chinese. Title translation, and following summary of the article's key points, provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.] BUPA was accused of imposing unreasonable conditions in its contracts with private doctors that could pose serious health risks to patients, up to a dangerous level. It claimed the measures are to safeguard against abuse or overuse by participating doctors in its insurance programme. The conditions include restrictions on repeat visits, specialist referrals, lab tests and quantity of prescribed medications. BUPA attributed the tighter measures to patients’ heightened health awareness after SARS. One of its rivals, Blue Cross, said their policies do not impose the same restrictions on doctors.