More input real remedy for hospitals' ills

A doctor removes glass from a victim's hand who is injured of a bus fire at the No.1 Hospital in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, Jan 15, 2015.[Xinhua]

Vice-Minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission Sun Zhigang said recently that the fees for services involving medical staff would rise, as the commission seeks to end the decades-long practice of allowing hospitals to profit from buying and selling medicines. Comments:

While patients complain that their medicines are too expensive, doctors and nurses are also suffering, because their fees are rather low compared with the time and energy they invested in getting their degrees. As a result, patients face unbearable medical bills while doctors get a wage that's comparatively low. This move by the commission is in the right direction, and we hope the reform can be implemented properly.

eastday.com, May 23

The move has good intentions, but will it encourage doctors to give patients unnecessary treatment, even surgery, in a bid to get extra money? The majority of patients are at a disadvantage when seeing a doctor because their medical knowledge is negligible. A fair, bipartisan third-party committee is needed so that patients can issue complaints when they suspect they are being over-treated.

Beijing News, May 23

Over-treatment and high medicine prices are both the result of lack of State investment, which has forced hospitals to seek alternative revenue streams. The new reform needs to clarify the responsibility of the government and make sure enough funds are invested in the nation's public hospitals.

Southern Metropolis Daily, May 20