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China / Society

Program to loosen ties between doctors and hospitals

By WANG XIAODONG (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2014-10-15 17:09

Doctors in Beijing may have more autonomy in deciding which hospitals they work for in their spare time, a health official said on Tuesday.

"We are working on a pilot program that will allow doctors to work part time at other hospitals," Han Xiaofang, director of Beijing Medical Reform Office, said.

Han said the pilot program will further loosen the affiliation between doctors and the hospitals they serve, and allow them to take part-time positions in different medical institutes.

He suggested doctors could gain more freedom by not being formal employees of a certain hospital.

Doctors in China are full-time employees of hospitals are not normally allowed to work in other places unless they get consent from their employers.

Han said in reality many doctors from large hospitals have been working part time during weekends for extra income.

The new measure is expected to further optimize distribution of medical resources and increase the income of doctors, she said.

Zou Xiaofang, a doctor in plastic surgery at the Air Force General Hospital, said he supports the new measure.

"Such measures seem beautiful but I doubt whether they can be carried out," he said. "Few hospitals would be happy to see their doctors work for others."

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