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Private hospitals allowed
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THE Shenzhen Municipal Government has decided to allow non-State-controlled hospitals to be established within one or two years in an attempt to introduce competition to the moribund health care system, according to a local newspaper.
The Shenzhen Economic Daily yesterday said the city may become the first in the country to set up a Chinese-foreign joint venture hospital, adding that the Shenzhen Central Hospital is continuing negotiations with a would-be overseas partner.
The Daily said two or three Chinese-foreign joint venture, private or joint stock hospitals would soon get the official go-ahead.
It quoted Zhou Jun'an, director-general of the Shenzhen Municipal Public Health Bureau, as saying that foreign participation is aimed at introducing market competition instead of funds.
The presence of non-State-controlled hospitals would mean better services and management other than higher prices, Zhou told the newspaper.
Shenzhen has made some reforms in the health care system, but they have fallen short of the expectations of the general public and the needs of higher competitiveness in light of China's imminent WTO accession, the Daily said.
It said only 10 per cent of the medicine sold at the city's hospitals are procured under a tendering system, which is believed to be helpful in reducing drug prices and wiping out rampant corruption. Kickbacks from drug makers have been blamed for high medicine prices and hospital corruption.
The Daily said the reforms cannot move forward without market competition, but did not touch why the tendering system can not be applied to all, or more, medicines.
In addition to poor services, most patients complain about unreasonable drug prices, a Shenzhen Special Zone Daily report said, adding drug sales generate more than half of the incomes of the city's hospitals.
Facing little or no competition, hospitals, profit-motivated yet still run using a planned economy model, tend to prescribe unnecessary, high-priced examinations and drugs for patients, the Daily said.
Competition might be a good prescription for the ailments in the city's hospitals which need a lot of reforms in line with international practice, the Shenzhen Economic Daily said, suggesting the introduction of non-State-owned hospitals is a good way of making the sector competitive. (Lin Min)
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