Shenzhen hospital leads way in employment reform

Medical-system reform should learn from the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen hospital’s example, says an editorial on Beijing Youth Daily. An excerpt:

The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, run by administrators from both Hong Kong and Shenzhen, opened in July. As a public hospital, it has implemented several new measures, such as a contract personnel system and a zero tolerance of bribes and kickbacks. The moves are regarded as positive attempts at, and even setting a good example for, domestic medical-system reform.

The most remarkable reform of the new hospital is that each employee has signed a contract of employment with the hospital and is evaluated based on his or her performance. This is different from domestic hospitals’ traditional institutional personnel system. It effectively curbs the bribery of hospital employment, which is common in domestic hospitals.

The evaluation system has become a positive competition mechanism for the doctors, which can effectively supervise the doctors’ performances and ease conflicts between doctors and patients.

Although it would be difficult to end domestic hospitals’ institutional personnel system immediately, it’s possible to follow some of the practical measures that the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital has implemented.