By Jiang Yu, Department of Macroeconomic Research, Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC)

Report No 58, 2014 (Total 4557)

Summary:

There have been reports of many cases of assault, insults, and even injuries to doctors recently across the country, for a variety of reasons, including -- a lack of a mediation of doctor-patient disputes, poor communication between doctors and patients, and inadequate protection for medical staff -- but, the fundamental reason lies in the medical system itself where the reforms are not finished and doctors and patients have a conflict of interest, and there is not sufficient access to doctors for those in need of affordable treatment.

The country needs to deal with these problems with both temporary and permanent solutions. In the short term, it needs the following: more forms of direct communication between doctors and patients; optimal medical services in large hospitals with the help of information technology; better media coverage; reasonable patient expectations; and improved legislation for better doctor-patient dispute mediation. And, in the long term, it needs the following: speeding up medical system reforms; stopping the current practice of doctors' income partly coming from drug sales; increased incomes for medical staff; outlawing illegal incomes; better finance management at non-profit hospitals; and putting a stop to the rapid rise in medical expenses.