Reforms vital for hospital service

Political advisers of the Beijing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference urged quicker and deeper reforms of the city's healthcare system during its recent annual meeting.

Experts and medical professionals on the committee pointed out that medical services heavily dependent on labor are severely undervalued in the current system, while the costs of medical checks, medical equipment and some medicines can be reduced.

According to Wang Chengxiang, a doctor at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, the costs of more than 4,300 of 5,300 medical items were set in 1999, and since then the average price has increased by 18 percent and average income is four times greater.