Health Care in China

As China gains affluence, its health care system is gradually becoming more similar to that of capitalistic nations such as the United States. This shift toward health care privatization poses a grave problem for rural Chinese who are often unable to afford doctor visits and must sometimes travel to urban areas to receive proper medical attention. This paradox between rising national wealth and declining health care is destabilizing to a population used to receiving government sponsored care in their communities.

History

• In 1952, China began to align its health care system with the communist government's policies. At that time, the national government funded what it deemed to be the necessary health costs of the nation. The provincial and community governments also funded hospitals and all Chinese citizens could receive low-cost or free health care. In an effort to modernize, China has evolved into a more entrepreneurial, free-market period, which has had a major effect on its health care system. Increasingly, hospitals and patients must cover more of their own medical care costs. Both hospitals and patients are struggling to adapt to the changing system.

Features

• Unlike the United States and most Western nations, China's health care system de-emphasizes primary care to the point where patients go to hospitals for the vast majority of their health care concerns. Hospital administrative systems lack orderly appointment structures, leading to overcrowding and confusion. Patients do have the option, however, to see a doctor of their choosing by appointment if they are willing to pay extra money. This type of arrangement can usually be made through the hospital, but is sometimes unofficially arranged. As China itself becomes richer, patients expect a higher level of care and service and hospitals are adding comfortable, private rooms and more individualized care in order to keep up.

Geography

• In an interview on Med hunters.com, Dr. Michael J. Moreton, an obstetrician who spent 5 years working at a Beijing hospital, likened the differences in health care across China to those found throughout continental Europe, since the two areas are comparable in size and population. While big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have general and specialist hospitals equipped with the latest technology, this is not the case in rural areas, where local and county hospitals vary in their expertise. In extremely poor rural areas of China, hospitals are generally ill-equipped, sometimes even lacking modern sanitation systems.

Time Frame

• The Chinese often have to wait for hours or even days to receive adequate health care, especially if they live in more rural areas. Though people are generally patient and accustomed to waiting at crowded hospitals, some must travel hundreds of miles over a period of days just to have access to sufficient care to treat more serious health problems.

Expert Insight

• Health care professionals in China today are not well paid and doctors and nurses receive varying levels of training, according to Dr. Moreton. While some doctors have completed a 2 -year education similar to Western medical school training, specialists tend to be better trained. In China, there is no national organization to assess and standardize the skills of medical professionals. Moreton notes that many Chinese doctors are unhappy with the facets of the country's health care system, such as the slow pace of promotion, the difficulty of transferring to work in another hospital and especially the low pay.