Tensions between Medical Professionals and Patients in Mainland China

In China, state investment into public hospitals has radically decreased since the early 1980s and has brought on the dismantling of the healthcare system in most parts of the country, especially in rural areas. As a result of this overhaul, the majority of public hospitals have needed to compete in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics 2011-07, Vol.20 (3), p.458-465
Main Authors: ZHANG, XINQING, SLEEBOOM-FAULKNER, MARGARET
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bioethics
Borders
China
China (People's Republic)
China - epidemiology
Clinical Competence
Communication
Cross-Sectional Studies
Delivery of Health Care - standards
Ethics
Health care
Health Care Surveys
Health costs
Hospitals
Hospitals, General
Humans
Market economies
Medical professionals
Patients
Patients - statistics & numerical data
Physician-Patient Relations
Physicians
Physicians - statistics & numerical data
Public interest
Rural areas
Surveys and Questionnaires
Trust
Violence
Violence - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:In China, state investment into public hospitals has radically decreased since the early 1980s and has brought on the dismantling of the healthcare system in most parts of the country, especially in rural areas. As a result of this overhaul, the majority of public hospitals have needed to compete in the so-called socialist market economy. The market economy stimulated public hospitals to modernize, take on highly qualified medical professionals, and dispense new therapies and drugs. At same time, liberalization has clearly affected the attitude and behavior of both medical professionals and the general public. The public has many concerns about the healthcare system for various reasons: there are long hospital waiting lists, patients experience difficulties in obtaining an appointment to see a qualified doctor, and, over the past decades, there has been an increase in out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure. These and other changes in post-reform China have radically reshaped the doctor–patient interaction, which is increasingly eroded by tension and violence.
ISSN:0963-1801
1469-2147
DOI:10.1017/S0963180111000144