It is often said that doctors possess compassion and skillful hands. However, in recent days, Aier Eye Hospital (SZ.300015), a major private eye care medical institution in China, found itself in the midst of public criticism due to a video showing a doctor allegedly punching a patient’s head during surgery.
According to online sources, a doctor at Aier Eye Hospital in Guigang, Guangxi, was recorded punching the head of an 82-year-old patient during surgery. In response, Aier Eye Hospital stated that the doctor, in an urgent situation to prevent infection from the patient touching the eyes, used a hand to gently remind the patient and denied any intention to harm the patient.
As per the institute’s report, the involved doctor has been suspended pending investigation. It’s worth noting that Aier Eye Hospital has previously been entangled in medical liability disputes and faced penalties for practices such as overcharging, false advertising, and improper use of medical insurance funds.
- Head-punching Incident Leads to Doctor Suspension
On December 19, a blogger known as “Emergency Sunflower Aifen” posted a video and description alleging that a Aier Eye Hospital doctor punched a patient’s head during surgery, sparking public outrage.
According to the post, the 82-year-old patient, Mr. Qin, made sounds due to pain on the operating table. Instead of taking measures to comfort the patient, Dr. Feng Guiqiang reportedly used his fist to strike the patient’s head. Post-surgery, the patient lost vision in the left eye. The family sought the truth at the hospital, but the doctor insisted on denying the alleged behavior.
Aier Eye Hospital, in a statement on December 21, explained that the incident occurred on December 12, 2019. Dr. Feng, during a surgery to remove an abnormal lens and perform vitreous cutting on the patient’s left eye, resorted to using his hand urgently to tap the patient due to the patient’s frequent eye movement and attempts to touch the eye under local anesthesia.
As the patient spoke a dialect and had difficulty communicating in Mandarin, the doctor, after multiple ineffective warnings, used his hand to quickly tap the patient to avoid potential danger. After the surgery, misunderstandings were resolved through explanations from both the doctor and the patient’s family.
However, the investigative team considered the hospital should have prepared a plan for non-Mandarin-speaking patients before the surgery and made appropriate arrangements during the procedure. The doctor’s rough treatment of the patient was deemed a serious violation of medical personnel behavior standards, and the hospital’s failure to promptly report the incident violated medical safety management regulations.
Currently, Aier Eye Hospital has removed the CEO of Guigang Aier Eye Hospital, suspended the director’s (the operating doctor’s) position, and both are undergoing further investigation.
Despite the institute’s statement, public anger has not subsided. Many netizens expressed sentiments like “having surgery means entrusting the most vulnerable part of the body to the doctor” and “even if it’s a well-intentioned reminder, this method should not be used.” The whistleblower claimed that the doctor had assaulted patients more than once, and others also reported instances of Aier Eye Hospital doctors assaulting patients.
The blogger added that, according to the rules of the operating room’s disinfection and isolation system, each operating room is limited to one surgical table. The video showed a violation with two surgical tables and two patients lying down simultaneously.
- Frequent Medical Incidents Raise Questions About Industry Reputation
It’s noteworthy that the blogger, claiming to be the Director of the Emergency Department at Wuhan Central Hospital, previously exposed irregularities in Aier Eye Hospital’s diagnosis and treatment three years ago.
In December 2020, the blogger publicly stated that, after experiencing significant vision loss in May 2020, she visited Wuhan University-affiliated Aier Eye Hospital, where she underwent cataract removal and artificial lens implantation surgery based on the doctor’s recommendation. However, after five months, not only did her vision not improve, but also retinal detachment occurred.
In her opinion, her cataract was not severe, and Aier Eye Hospital was solely focused on installing the lens, causing a delay in the optimal treatment of her eye condition. A month later, Aier Eye Hospital announced that all pre-operative examinations, surgery, and postoperative reviews complied with medical standards, and the retinal detachment in the right eye was not directly related to the surgery.
After the announcement, the blogger accused Aier Eye Hospital of “evading the main issue, confusing the public, mismanaging, and shirking responsibility.” This led to a dispute between the blogger and Wang Yong, the Deputy Dean of Aier Eye Hospital in Wuhan. In June of the same year, based on a court ruling, the blogger apologized to Wang Yong for infringing on his reputation but retained the right to appeal.
In fact, Aier Eye Hospital has been involved in more medical disputes than the ones mentioned. Public information shows that in 2017, Wuhan Aier Eye Hospital caused a patient to go blind in the left eye due to an error in installing an artificial lens. A year later, Huludao Aier Eye Hospital faced accusations of medical negligence leading to a patient’s retinal detachment.
A self-proclaimed former employee of Aier Eye Hospital also posted that, due to the operating doctor’s failure to communicate detailed information about the surgical plan, postoperative sequelae, and contraindications as required, the person’s unaided vision was 0.25 on the first day after refractive surgery. After more than three years of treatment, unaided vision in both eyes had dropped to 0.05, and corrected vision was only 0.2.
The blogger also stated that many patients with similar problems had confided in her. She believed that “even I find it difficult to defend my rights, ordinary people have no way to start,” and expressed that her insistence on revealing the truth was based on a “hope for a change in the current private hospital model from a doctor’s perspective.”
- Performance Growth in the Spotlight, Regulatory Penalties in the Shadows
Aier Eye Hospital entered the medical system through a cooperative form known as “in-hospital cooperation” with public hospitals. According to “21st Century Business Herald,” Chen Bang, the founder of Aier Eye Hospital, purchased a cataract phacoemulsification treatment device for ¥30,000 with a 10% down payment and placed it in the Third People’s Hospital of Changsha, starting a career in “department contracting.”
In 2000, with the medical system reform explicitly prohibiting department contracting, Chen Bang’s ophthalmology department had to find another way. Benefiting from the user and resource accumulation brought by cooperation with public hospitals, in 2001, Chen Bang established his first ophthalmology hospital in Shenyang and gradually expanded the business to more regions.
Since going public in 2009, Aier Eye Hospital’s revenue and net profit have consistently maintained a positive growth trend, with income growing over 12 times in the past ten years. Although the growth rate slowed slightly in 2022, it still achieved a revenue of ¥161.10 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.39%, and a net profit attributable to the parent of ¥25.24 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.65%.
In the first three quarters of 2023, Aier Eye Hospital’s revenue reached ¥160.47
billion, a year-on-year increase of 22.95%, nearing its total revenue for the entire year of 2022. Net profit attributable to the parent was ¥31.81 billion, a year-on-year increase of 34.97%, and non-GAAP net profit was ¥31.05 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24.03%.
However, alongside the growth in performance, there is a growing skepticism from the public towards Aier Eye Hospital. In February 2020, Aier Eye Hospital in Taiyuan, which was not designated as a new-type epidemic hospital and did not have a fever clinic, openly accepted N95 mask donations from the public. When questioned by netizens, the hospital’s customer service responded with offensive language.
Five months later, Aier Eye Hospital hospitals in Hanchuan, Zigong, and Chengdu claimed on their official WeChat accounts that “unaided vision has been included in the evaluation criteria for the middle school entrance examination,” which was later refuted by official authorities. At that time, industry insiders pointed out that eye care medical institutions exaggerated a local policy as a national policy and engaged in potential false advertising through self-media platforms.
Additionally, Aier Eye Hospital has faced multiple administrative penalties for irregularities such as repeated charges for medical procedures, excessive fees, and improper use of medical insurance funds. An insider revealed that Aier Eye Hospital had deceived elderly individuals into undergoing cataract surgery by misrepresenting it as necessary, and multiple hospitals under its umbrella were reported by the medical insurance bureau for improperly using medical insurance funds.
- Expanding the Industry through Mergers and Acquisitions, Building the “Eye Care Empire”
Looking back at the billion-dollar development journey of this private eye care institute, it has expanded its scale and performance rapidly, but behind the scenes, it has stirred up quite a bit of dust. These negative controversies reflect risks in the management model of this private hospital.
As of the end of June 2023, Aier Eye Hospital’s listed company includes 229 domestic hospitals, 168 outpatient departments, and 124 overseas medical institutions. Its external industry mergers and acquisitions fund includes 321 medical institutions, totaling 842 both inside and outside the company, far surpassing the second-ranked Hua Xia Eye Institute.
However, according to Beidou Finance, these seemingly large numbers were achieved by Aier Eye Hospital through an “external incubation model” for mergers and acquisitions. As per the annual report, the company participates in investment industry mergers and acquisitions funds, allowing its invested hospitals to use specified trademarks and the name “Love Eye.”
In this model, authorized brand hospitals are independent legal entities, not subsidiaries of Aier Eye Hospital, and operate independently, taking on the debt or legal responsibilities arising during the operation process. It is reported that after these eye care hospitals become profitable, Aier Eye Hospital will repurchase control and achieve expansion and arbitrage in the primary and secondary markets.
In other words, compared to specialized and authoritative eye care hospitals, the title of “Eye Care Empire” for Aier Eye Hospital tends more towards building the empire through mergers and acquisitions of eye care hospitals. At the same time, due to the large number of incubated hospitals and wide distribution, Aier Eye Hospital has taken on brand management and arbitration risks, significantly compromising its overall image.
Taking the example of Guigang Aier Eye Hospital, which is now embroiled in public controversy, it was formerly Guigang Jiguang Eye Hospital Co., Ltd., acquired by Aier Eye Hospital in 2019. Tianyancha shows that Aier Eye Hospital holds 91.77% of the company’s shares, with the other two shareholders being Guigang Zhongmu Medical Investment Partnership and Guilin Sightline Medical Investment Center.
It’s worth noting that the high-profile acquisitions have also caused Aier Eye Hospital’s goodwill to skyrocket, increasing from ¥20.62 billion at the end of 2018 to ¥54.58 billion at the end of 2022. As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, Aier Eye Hospital’s goodwill has reached ¥59.01 billion, undoubtedly becoming a potential risk affecting its performance.
Conclusion
In May 2022, Chen Bang clearly stated at the shareholder meeting, “According to the development stage of the company, the mergers and acquisitions fund model will gradually exit the stage of history, and the establishment of new medical institutions will focus on self-construction. While continuing to expand the medical network, we will further focus on high-quality development.”
Private eye care hospitals have the potential to contribute significantly to the overall development of the healthcare industry. However, if the pursuit of hospital scale and market share is done blindly, ignoring patient experience and medical reputation based on moral and ethical principles, the “Eye Care Empire” will eventually become a bubble.
Today, Aier Eye Hospital should reflect on how to maintain medical quality during the process of pursuing the number of stores.