China launched a pilot medical reform on public hospitals in 17 cities in 2010, and the guideline stipulates the reform should cover all of the country's 6,800 public hospitals by 2017.
The reform is aimed to change public hospitals' reliance on medicine sales to supplement their income. Public hospitals should establish a reasonable drug pricing system and retune recruitment and salary policies, the guideline said.
Health insurance should cover most of the medical expenditure, while out-of-pocket money, the private bills paid by each patient should be lower than 30 percent by 2017.
The wider plan is to establish a modern hospital management system, eliminating drug price-added profits and standardizing referral procedures.
Public hospitals should be operated for the public good, instead of seeking lucrative gains, and the service should be accessible, equal and efficient for the people, the guideline said.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
