CCTV9英语新闻：China government encourages medical treatment multi-site practice

The proposal to have physicians practicing at multiple sites in China was conceived in 2009. It's regarded as a progressive move to meet the growing demand for medical treatment in rural areas.  But while the idea might be sound in theory, it's expected to encounter many practical problems. CCTV’s SHI WENJING explains...

Dr. Pei Bin has worked in a public hospital for nearly twenty years.

He once saw to 176 patients in one day........a personal record for him.

Two years ago, he left the public system and joined a private clinic.

“I can still remember the day that I received that record number of patients. When I look back, I had concern I might misdiagnose or miss something important among those patients. I simply cannot be thorough with that sheer number of patients. The major difference now is that I can calmly spend time with my patients, to know more about their medical history and make future treatment plans for them," said Pei Bin, associate chief physician rich clinic.

Unlike Dr. Pei, most of his peers are still working in public hospitals, despite regulations which have been there for more than seven years. But they have their own concerns.

According to a recent survey, doctors in public hospitals are skeptical about this multi-site reform proposal for three specific reasons: medical disputes, personal development, and getting permission from their place of work...

"I am in favour of this practice. I think it serves the patients better as they will be able to enjoy more high-quality doctors. As for the hospitals, we will have better talent to consult. But there are also many concerns from the hospital side that hinders the development of this practice. Certain details of the current piloted regulation need more discussion. The final goal of multi-site practice is freelance doctors. It is the trend. We need to pay attention to the problem we have now and discuss how to resolve it," said Duan Tao, president Shanghai first maternity & infant hospital.

The majority of experienced and talented physicians in China are employed by large-scale public hospitals...

The current physician practice registration policy requires physicians to practise only through the registered employer stated in their practice certificate.

As a result, it is not easy for some medical institutions to hire high-quality physicians...

“This multi-site practice idea is sound. It can help release the medical resources to meet the increasing demand from the public. Also, it can create a new order so that patients will follow the doctors rather than everyone heading to the large, crowded hospitals. With a more flexible system, doctors from the large hospitals and the community ones can have more communication and exchanges. Over the past two years we’ve seen some problems, though. Mainly focused on the mobility of the doctors. It requires many related departments to work together to solve the problem,” said Fan Jincheng, deputy director Pudong health & family planning commission, Shanghai.

Fan said that there's still a huge lack of medical workers in Shanghai’s Pudong New area........and it's not practical to train what's there to meet the demand. He said the multi-site practice has potential, but it needs more research...

According to official figures, there are around 45-thousand doctors registered for the multi-site policy across the country. The number is very small proportion with its two million licensed doctors.

It's hoped that, with time, all stakeholders will find a way to work around the legal hurdles which are currently holding the proposal up..