A recent investigation found that some hospitals in Central China's Henan province acquired kickbacks of up to 30 percent when purchasing medical equipment.

This came after a previous report issued by Henan's health authorities revealed that 17,000 doctors throughout the province were punished in 2014 for their involvement in corruption cases related to medical equipment purchases in some hospitals.

With the adoption of the policy for hospitals to charge patients the purchase price of medicines and mandatory measures to reduce the drugs doctors prescribe patients, the number of corruption cases involving patients being overcharged and over-prescribed medicines has considerably decreased.