BEIJING (SCMP): The disclosure of the medical details of Chinese table tennis Olympic champion Wang Chuqin’s by a doctor has triggered an online backlash and questioning of medical ethics in the country.
Media reports emerged on Dec 20 saying that Wang’s private medical information had been leaked by a doctor he visited at the Changsha No. 4 Hospital in central China’s Hunan province on Dec 14.
Wang made the visit during the China Table Tennis Super League’s Changsha match.
The Olympic champion appeared to be unwell in video footage from court.
A netizen later posted a chat app screenshot between her friend and a doctor at the hospital, who said Wang had his body examined at their hospital and signed them several autographs.
The doctor also bragged about checking Wang’s electrocardiogram.
The post was removed after the doctor’s infringement of the sports star’s privacy triggered massive backlash.
People questioned the medic’s professionalism and demanded punishment from the hospital.
“Even if doctors are fans of the celebrities visiting the hospital, they should never show their admiration at work,” one online observer said.
“Wang is a top athlete but at the hospital he is an ordinary patient like any of us. How can we trust that our private medical records can be protected if a doctor can leak a celebrity’s information without consequences?” said another.
A member of hospital staff told the mainland media outlet Tide News that the hospital had punished the doctor, but did not disclose the details.
Another staff member said the hospital planned to cut the employee’s bonus. The doctor has not been identified.
Wang has not responded over the doctor’s behaviour nor his health status.
The athlete who won two golds, one in the mixed doubles and the other from men’s team match, at the Paris Olympics experienced dramatic ups and downs in his matches following the games.
He said in an online post on Dec 17 that he decided to pause his games and take a rest.
Wang and his mixed doubles teammate Sun Yingsha are the latest top stars in China’s national table tennis team. Wang has more than 8 million followers online.
Yang Chen, a lawyer from the Beijing Yidu Law Firm, told chinanews.com that doctors who leak the personal information of patients personal face up to 10-days in custody and a fine of 500 yuan (US$70).
Also, China’s Medical Practitioners Law stipulates that doctors who reveal patients’ personal or private information will face a warning from the local government health department, and have their practising certificate revoked in the most severe cases. - South China Morning Post
