Yihu Doctor's 'Medical Disturbance Injury Relief Fund' Makes First Donation Amid Surge in Violence Against Healthcare Workers

On the shores of Saranac Lake in northeastern New York, USA, is inscribed the motto of Dr. Trudeau, a Western physician: “To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.” As physicians, we can sometimes achieve a cure, but at other times can only provide comfort. However, in China, if treatment outcomes fail to meet patients’ expectations, they tend to blame hospitals for inaction, resulting in highly strained doctor–patient relationships.

As an emerging force, internet healthcare is poised to improve the existing doctor-patient relationship. VCBeat, a platform dedicated to research and consulting in internet healthcare, believes that technology can change the world and goodwill can enhance life. The “Medical Violence Injury Assistance Fund” established by Yihu Doctor is a testament to such goodwill. VCBeat looks forward to greater participation from diverse groups and forces to jointly build a doctor-patient environment characterized by mutual respect, friendship, tolerance, and understanding.

The highly publicized stabbing of a doctor in Guiyang has seen new developments. In addition to the arrest of the suspect, various forms of assistance have been mobilized. Notably, Yihu Doctor, China’s first internet healthcare company, promptly announced its support for the injured physician through its “Medical Violence Injury Assistance Fund” and has already entrusted the hospital with delivering RMB 5,000 as a consolation payment.

VCBeat has learned that in the “Letter of Appreciation” stamped with the official seal of Guiyang Fourth People’s Hospital and sent to the aid fund, it was stated: “Entrusted by the recipient, Mr. Song Kaifang, our hospital has received the consolation payment of RMB 5,000 (five thousand yuan exactly) donated by your organization via bank transfer on August 5, 2015. The entire amount will be handed over to Dr. Song Kaifang for his rehabilitation. Meanwhile, at your organization’s request, we have also extended condolences and support to Dr. Song and his family.”



“Although our condolences are limited, they reflect our deep concern for the medical community and our consistent condemnation of violence against healthcare workers,” said Ma Haiping, Founder and CEO of Yihu Doctor. “Yihu Doctor feels the pain of violent incidents against medical staff as if it were inflicted upon our own kin; taking action is our only choice.”

Dr. Song Kaifang’s wife also stated, “We hope that society and patients will fully understand the dedication and hardships of healthcare workers, respect medical personnel, and prevent similar tragedies from occurring again.”

According to reports, it took six days for the relevant person in charge of the “Medical Violence Injury Assistance Fund” to deliver aid after learning of the incident. During this period, the main efforts focused on contacting, verifying, and communicating with the parties involved. “Dr. Song’s family repeatedly expressed their willingness to redirect the assistance to doctors in greater need; it was only after our persistent insistence that they finally accepted.”

Yang Xiaoqiu, President of Guiyang No. 4 People’s Hospital, and the wife of Director Song Kaifang

On June 26 this year, Yihu Doctor established the “Medical Disturbance Injury Assistance Fund,” pledging to provide moral support, financial aid, and other forms of assistance to medical personnel harmed by medical disturbances.

In recent years, violence against medical personnel in China has been on the rise, with frequent bloody incidents occurring in hospitals. According to incomplete statistics, more than 12 cases of violence against healthcare workers occurred across China in June alone this year, surpassing the total number of such cases in all of 2012 (11 cases).

An anonymous physician pointed out that the “doctor-killing cases” are rooted in problems within the healthcare system, as Chinese hospitals have long grappled with difficulties and high costs in accessing medical care, which has significantly exacerbated doctor–patient tensions.

In fact, as early as 2004, China began implementing measures to protect physicians. Currently, the primary approach in China involves police-medical collaboration to forcefully control situations and ensure physician safety. However, the fundamental solution to resolving doctor-patient conflicts lies in improving the quality of medical services across healthcare institutions at all levels and establishing channels for patients to assert their rights—areas that have received scant attention. Without addressing these root causes, even the most robust enforcement efforts merely treat the symptoms rather than the underlying disease. In other countries, such issues are more commonly resolved through legal means. (The “Imperial Sword” Cannot Curb Medical Violence—What Can?)

Goethe once famously said: “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily we reflect upon them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.” If both doctors and patients could always hold in reverence the moral law within their hearts, the doctor-patient relationship would undoubtedly become much simpler and purer.

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