Top Biz News

Private hospitals get chance to lure top docs in Beijing

By Yang Wanli (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-02 07:52

Experienced doctors in hospitals throughout the capital will be allowed to treat patients in more than one hospital before the end of the year, Beijing News reported yesterday.

Spokesperson Fang Laiying said the idea has already been given the thumbs-up by the Ministry of Health and is likely to become a reality during the first half of the year.

The proposal will mean highly-qualified doctors will be able to take on work at other hospitals during their free time.

"It is a good news for us because it means private hospitals will be free to invite famous doctors to work with them," said Zhao Tianwei, president of Mary's Hospital, a private hospital for women and children. "This will surely increase our competitiveness compared to public hospitals."

At Mary's Hospital, fewer than 10 percent of physicians are from public hospitals.

Zhao noted that it was very hard to procure the services of elite doctors.

"We have to do this secretly because doctors are not allowed to handle cases in other hospitals," she said. " If the proposal can be put into practice, both doctors and patients will benefit from it."

She said doctors would be able to earn more by working on their days off and patients would be able to benefit from the attention of the best doctors in the city.

While the proposal was likely to be well received by private hospitals, some patients questioned whether medical services might deteriorate in the long term.

"I am worried that if the doctors can earn more money from private hospitals, they might care less about their own jobs in public hospitals," said Zhang Qian, who has worked in Beijing for more than three years and who usually uses public hospitals.

But doctors said it should not have an impact.

"I don't think the proposal will affect the quality of medical service in public hospitals," said Ye Ronghua, director physician at Peking University Third Hospital. "We are basically working in public hospitals and should be responsible for the patients. If there are doctors who want to work in other hospitals, they should make sure to finish their work in their hospitals first."

Fang revealed that doctors at a minimum level of deputy director will be allowed to work in other hospitals, clinics and residential health service centers.