Application of third-party mediation for medical disputes： an introduction of Chinese experience

• Published in: Chinese medical journal 2014, Vol.127 (14), p.2707-2710
• Main Authors: Cao, Yanlin, Wang, Jiangjun, Zheng, Xueqian, Jin, Qinghan, Tian, Yongquan, Wen, Xuebin, Wei, Zhanying, Li, Wu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: China; Dissent and Disputes; Humans; Negotiating; Physician-Patient Relations; 严重伤害; 中国; 医务人员; 医疗纠纷; 医院管理; 社会矛盾; 第三方; 调解
• ISSN: 0366-6999; 2542-5641
• DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0366-6999.20140523

to disputes that occur when milies are unsatisfied with medical services offered by medical workers.1 China stands at the point of social transformation2 with various social contradictions, one of which is the increasing medical disputes. According to the statistics from the Minister of Health, there are more than one million medical disputes in China per year, with an average of 40 per medical institution.3 The China Hospital Management Association＇s survey that was completed in 2013 showed that medical workers were attacked with injures by patients in 63.7% of hospitals in 2012, rising from 47.7% in 2008. The percentage of hospitals with more than six such incidences was 8.3% in 2012, which was twice more than that in 2008 （4.5%）. It is increasingly common to see medical workers abused and threatened. The average number of such occurrences for each hospital was 20.6 in 2008, but 27.3 in 2012. The study also shows that there were 40 serious violence incidences against medical workers causing severe injuries, disabilities, and even death between 2003 and 2012, which had affected the normal diagnoses and treatments in hospitals and undermined social harmony and stability.4