Private sector lures more medicos

He Qiping, a traditional Chinese massage therapist, 33, was assigned to a reputed acupuncture and massage hospital in Beijing in 2004, but in 2006, he quit and went to Japan for further education. He went to Japan mostly because traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is well accepted there, and he hoped to broaden his vision.

When he returned in 2011, he noticed there had emerged quite a lot of high-end private TCM clinics in Beijing, and immediately he decided to work for them.

"If I was in a public hospital, probably I would be very busy seeing one patient after another," He says.

"I would be tired, and have no interest in reading or doing something else after work to update knowledge and to improve my skills.

"That is ultimately bad for me and my patients."

However, Wang Shan, president of Peking University People's Hospital, a top public hospital in China, says public hospitals remain the first choice for medical graduates, and few top experts would leave the system.

"Public hospitals have the best medical resources in China, and for fresh graduates, that means the best doctors and experts to learn from, and the best platform to launch a career," Wang says.

In addition, a position in a public hospital is secure employment open to young people only at graduation. It is easy to leave a public hospital, but difficult to go back, Wang adds.

But Pan Zhongying, general-manager of Beijing United Family Hospital, notes that the government is encouraging private investment in the medical sector and quickly developing the social welfare and security system, such as commercialization of medical and pension insurance. That means employment security is not the first thing to consider for a doctor, Pan adds.

"In a private hospital, a doctor makes a living on his communicative and professional skills," Pan says.

"As long as he is good at treating patients, he can live well."

Wang, however, is convinced that top experts who opt out of the public system do so for particular reasons that don't apply to other colleagues.

"After all, public hospitals are still the best hospitals in China," he says.