| HOSPITALS in China might suffer a sharp decline in revenue this year as
they have to hand over to health administrative departments all profits from the sale of
medicines. However, the loss could be compensated if they supply efficient and
high-quality medical services to the public.
Before, hospitals could keep all earnings from medicine sales, which often made up more
than 50 per cent of their total income.
The Ministry of Health wants, through the reform, to end the practice of "lengthy
prescriptions" _ a common practice in many hospitals that make money from sales in
order to make up for low fees charged for consultations and some sophisticated treatments.
The principles are being discussed at a four-day national meeting on health
development, which opened yesterday in Beijing. Medical reform has been listed as one of
the priorities in 1999.
With the new system, income from medicines and treatments will be accounted and
administered separately.
Hospitals will be able to manage what they earn from medical treatments and other
services.
Profits from sales of medicines will be put under monopolized management by local
health administrative departments, which will later be returned to hospitals rationally
according to their service quality and efficiency.
Measures will also be taken to standardize the purchase of pharmaceutical products.
While lowering the cost for medicines, hospitals will be permitted to raise fees
rationally for technical services such as clinical consultations and surgeries.
Health Minister Zhang Wenkang stressed that health administrative departments and
hospitals must be oriented towards the patients and serve them in the best possible way.
Medical reform is important and pressing. Zhang explained that the basic principle of
the medical insurance system reform is to meet basic medical needs of workers and
government employees.
Hospitals will face new challenges in this reform. It will require that both
individuals and their employers contribute in part to establishing personal accounts.
As people would have more freedom to select hospitals, competition between hospitals
will be intensified. Some hospitals might be eliminated through such competition, he said.
Hospitals will be supervised by both medical insurance administrative departments and
the public. This will bring about better medical services and more health care
information.
However, health development in China still lags behind demands created by economic
evolution and social advancement, according to the minister.
Most hospitals and health care resources are concentrated in cities. Residents in some
poverty-stricken areas still suffer from shortages of medicine and doctors.
To solve these problems, the Ministry of Health has decided to extend health care
services for urban and rural citizens both from a quality and convenience point of view,
and reorganize health resources.
Priority will be placed onto preventive health care work in rural areas and
community-based medical services. |
