China continues hospital reforms amid difficulties |
2011-12-15 00:05 |
Immersed in the joy of his daughter's birth, first-time father Yang Hong spoke highly of the improved medical service he experienced in the city of "Hospitalized delivery used to take one week, but my wife was discharged from the hospital only three days after she gave birth to the baby," said Yang. "We didn't have to waste time and saved at least 2,000 yuan ($314) in hospital fees." Zunyi was one of 16 cities chosen in February 2010 to institute reforms in its public hospitals. The State Council, or INITIAL SUCCESS The hospitals that were chosen to participate in the pilot program have seen progress in the two years since the program began. Zunyi's No 1 People's Hospital, where Yang's daughter was born, is one of them One of the reforms being made includes the introduction of "clinical pathways," a management tool used to manage healthcare quality. The hospital has 50 beds in its obstetrics department, all of which are in high demand year-round, said He Lifang, director of the department. "Clinical pathway management has alleviated the problem," He said. The management system has allowed the hospital to standardize prescriptions, the length of hospital stays and doctors' therapies, increasing the turnover ratio for the hospital's beds by 20 percent, said Liu Xiaoyun, deputy director of the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department. Electronic medical records, high-quality nursing services and the introduction of a regional health information network are also part of the reforms being made at the hospital, said Luo Xudong, president of the hospital. With the implement of the reforms, the hospital has seen a significant increase in the number of patients admitted and the average hospitalization time has been reduced by about 30 hours, Luo said. UNDERLYING DIFFICULTIES As the reforms are expanded, several underlying difficulties have emerged. Limited local finances have hampered the further implementation of the reforms, especially in less-developed western regions. "The subsidy provided by the government is far from enough," said Luo. Hospitals at the county level often have to contend with poor infrastructure and medical facilities. "Advanced medical equipment is demanding for operations and physical examinations," said Jiang Dacheng, president of the People's But funding shortages have put the brakes on the expansion of the reforms, Jiang said. Public hospitals in Analysts say the market-oriented reforms have improved medical services to some extent. But the fact that hospitals operate on profits made from medical services and drug prescriptions have also resulted in soaring medical costs on the part of patients. "Most of the public hospitals in The pilot program has also encountered other problems, such as a shortage of skilled doctors and the absence of coordinated policy support. The government will continue to push the reforms forward while focusing on separating medical treatment services and medication sales, said Li Ling, an expert on public hospital reform at |