Abstract
This book aims at presenting the Chinese healthcare system and its latest reforms. Chapter 2 presents the specific definition of a health good and its implications. Then, in Chap. 3, the general landscape of healthcare in China is described. Chapter 4 focuses on public hospitals and their evolution, while Chap. 5 analyzes the status and actual situation of medical staff. As a thread throughout these chapters, inefficiencies in the system tend to appear, as do the current reforms aimed at dealing with them. Public insurance plans implemented over the past two decades are discussed in Chap. 6. The medical drug market is presented in Chap. 7 and the determinants of the phenomenon of violence affecting Chinese hospitals are described, through the relationship between the patient or patient’s relatives and medical staff, in Chap. 8. Chapter 9 delves deeply into the development of digital healthcare in China and how it can solve inefficiencies in the hospital system. The concluding chapter (Chap. 10) offers a vision of the future directions that the Chinese social model could take, based on the observations in previous chapters of current reforms and experiments.
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Notes
- 1.
“The Scale of China’s Healthcare Industry has Already Reached RMB 2 Trillion,” Xinhua News, 28 July 2015. http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2015-07/28/c_128064713.htm
- 2.
Jeffrey Moe, Shu Chen, and Andrea Taylor, “Initial Findings in a Landscaping Study of Healthcare Delivery Innovation in China,” IPIHD (International Partnership for Innovative Healthcare Delivery) research Report 14-01, 2014; Xuezheng Qin, Lixing Li, and Chee-Ruey Hsieh, “Too Few Doctors or Too Low Wages? Labor Supply of Healthcare Professionals in China,” China Economic Review, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2013.
- 3.
For some observers, the turning point of the reforms towards a more social society was marked by the speech of Hu Jintao, Secretary General of the Party in 2006, when he introduced the notion of a “harmonious society.” Joe C.B. Leung and Yuebin Xui, China’s Social Welfare, Cambridge, UK, Malden, MA, Polity Press, 2015.
- 4.
National Bureau of Statistics of China, “Statistical Communiqué of the People’s Republic of China on the 2014 National Economic and Social Development,” 26 February 2015, www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/201502/t20150228_687439.html. Accessed September 2017. The figures presented here do not include Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan.
- 5.
Lucy Reynolds and Martin McKee, “Factors Influencing Antibiotic Prescribing in China: An Exploratory Analysis,” Health Policy, Vol. 90, No. 1, 2009, pp. 32–36.
- 6.
Lianping Yang, Chaojie Liu, J. Adamm Ferrier, Wei Zhou, and Xinping Zhang, “The Impact of the National Medicines Policy on Prescribing Behaviours in Primary Care Facilities in Hubei Province of China,” Health Policy Plan, Vol. 28, No. 7, 2013, pp. 750–760.
- 7.
It is thought that the excessive use of antibiotics, and particularly ototoxic medicines, accounts for 60% of hearing loss among children.
- 8.
According to figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2014 China’s GDP was slightly higher than that of the United States.
- 9.
The rate of growth was 10.6% in 2010.
- 10.
“China Economic Outlook,” FocusEconomics, 18 October 2016. Source: People’s Bank of China, 2017.
- 11.
Deng Shouqiang, “‘Dandu er tai’ fang kai: Pinglun cheng houxu gonggong fuwu ying gen shang” (Relaxing the One-child Policy: Comments say Public Services Should Follow Up), Zhongwenwang xinwen zhongxin, 18 November 2013, http://news.china.com.cn/2013-11/18/content_30628501.htm. Accessed 18 November 2016.
- 12.
S. Wang, “Conquering Poverty while in the Midst of Developing the Nation,” In M. Wang (ed.), Thirty Years of China’s Reform, London: Routledge, 2012, pp. 476–512.
- 13.
Li Shi, Hiroshi Sato, and Terry Sicular (eds.), Rising Inequality in China: Challenges to a Harmonious Society, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
- 14.
Jiong Tu, “Yinao: Protest and Violence in China’s Medical Sector,” Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 11 December 2014, http://berkeleyjournal.org/2014/12/yinao-protest-and-violence-in-chinas-medical-sector. Accessed September 2017.
- 15.
A recent example: Xinhua, “Doctor Dies after Stabbing Attack in Guangzhou,” China Daily Asia, 7 May 2016. www.chinadailyasia.com/nation/2016-05/07/content_15429118.html. Accessed September 2017.
- 16.
In 2015, there were 5.9 million beds, of which 5.5 million were allocated for elderly people. In total, there are 2.8 million elderly people staying at these establishments. National Bureau of Statistics of China, “Statistical Communiqué of the People’s Republic of China on the 2014 National Economic and Social Development,” op. cit. Care for the elderly will not be explored further in this chapter.
- 17.
In 2015 there were 5.9 million beds, of which more than 5.5 million were for the care of the elderly. In total, 2.8 million seniors are residents of an institution. Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China, “Statistical Communiqué of the People’s Republic of China on the 2014 National Economic and Social Development,” op. cit.
- 18.
This figure includes 2.82 million doctors and assistants, and 2.92 million accredited nurses. The official number of beds is 6.52 million, of which 4.84 million are in hospitals and 1.17 million are in health centres.
- 19.
In 2015, there were 982,443 such institutions. This figure includes 25,865 hospitals, 36,899 cantonal township health centres, 34,264 health centres at village or village agglomeration level, 646,044 clinics at village or village agglomeration level, 3491 centres for the prevention of epidemic diseases, and health surveillance centres. Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China, “Statistical Communiqué of the People’s Republic of China on the 2014 National Economic and Social Development,” 26 February 2015, www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/201502/t20150228_687439.html. Accessed September 2017.
- 20.
These terms will be more precisely defined later in the book.
- 21.
John S. Akin, William H. Dow, Peter M. Lance, and Chung-Ping A, Loh, “Changes in Access to Health Care in China, 1989–1997,” Health Policy and Planning, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2005, pp. 80–89; Sarah L. Barber and Lan Yao, “Development and Status of Health Insurance Systems in China,” The International Journal of Health Planning and Management , Vol. 26, No. 4, 2011, pp. 339–356; Meng Qingyue and Tang Shenglan, “Universal Health Care Coverage in China: Challenges and Opportunities,” Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 77, 2013, pp. 330–340; Hufeng Wang, “A Dilemma of Chinese Healthcare Reform: How to Re-define Government Roles?” China Economic Review, Vol. 20, No. 4, 2009, pp. 598–604; Hufeng Wang, Michael K. Gusmano, and Qi Cao, “An Evaluation of the Policy on Community Health Organizations in China: Will the Priority of New Healthcare Reform in China be a Success?” Health Policy, Vol. 99, No. 1, 2011, pp. 37–43; Hong Liu, Song Gao, and John A. Rizzo, “The Expansion of Public Health Insurance and the Demand for Private Health Insurance in Rural China,” China Economic Review, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2011, pp. 28–41.
- 22.
Xinqing Zhang and Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner, “Tensions between Medical Professionals and Patients in Mainland China,” Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Vol. 20, No. 3, 2011, pp. 458–465; Xin Xu and Rongrong Lu, “Baoli yu buxinren: zhuanxing Zhongguo de yiliao baoli yanjiu: 2000–2006” (Violence and Mistrust: Research on Violence in Medical Treatment in Transforming China [2000–2006]), Fazhi yu shehui fazhan (Law and Social Development), No. 1, 2008, pp. 82–101; Therese Hesketh, Dan Wu, Linan Mao, and Nan Ma, “Violence Against Doctors in China,” The British Medical Journal Clinical Research, No. 345, 2012, pp. 1–5.
Bibliography
Akin, John S., William H. Dow, Peter M. Lance, and Chung-Ping A. Loh, “Changes in Access to Health Care in China, 1989–1997,” Health Policy and Planning, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2005, pp. 80–89.
Barber, Sarah L., and Lan Yao, “Development and Status of Health Insurance Systems in China,” The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Vol. 26, No. 4, 2011, pp. 339–356.
Hesketh, Therese, Dan Wu, Linan Mao, and Nan Ma, “Violence Against Doctors in China,” The British Medical Journal Clinical Research, No. 345, 2012, pp. 1–5.
Leung, Joe C.B., and Yuebin Xui, China’s Social Welfare, Cambridge, UK and Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2015.
Liu, Hong, Song Gao, and John A. Rizzo, “The Expansion of Public Health Insurance and the Demand for Private Health Insurance in Rural China,” China Economic Review, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2011, pp. 28–41.
Moe, Jeffrey, Shu Chen, and Andrea Taylor, “Initial Findings in a Landscaping Study of Healthcare Delivery Innovation in China,” IPIHD (International Partnership for Innovative Healthcare Delivery) Research Report 14-01, 2014.
Qin, Xuezheng, Lixing Li, and Chee-Ruey Hsieh, “Too Few Doctors or Too Low Wages? Labor Supply of Healthcare Professionals in China,” China Economic Review, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2013.
Qingyue, Meng, and Tang Shenglan, “Universal Health Care Coverage in China: Challenges and Opportunities,” Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 77, 2013, pp. 330–340.
Reynolds, Lucy, and Martin McKee, “Factors Influencing Antibiotic Prescribing in China: An Exploratory Analysis,” Health Policy, Vol. 90, No. 1, 2009, pp. 32–36.
Shi, Li, Hiroshi Sato, and Terry Sicular (eds.), Rising Inequality in China: Challenges to a Harmonious Society, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Tu, Jiong, “Yinao: Protest and Violence in China’s Medical Sector,” Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 11 December 2014, http://berkeleyjournal.org/2014/12/yinao-protest-and-violence-in-chinas-medical-sector. Accessed 26 October 2016.
Wang, Hufeng, “A Dilemma of Chinese Healthcare Reform: How to Re-define Government Roles?” China Economic Review, Vol. 20, No. 4, 2009, pp. 598–604.
Wang, S., “Conquering Poverty while in the Midst of Developing the Nation,” In M. Wang (ed.), Thirty Years of China’s Reform, London: Routledge, 2012, pp. 476–512.
Wang, Hufeng, Michael K. Gusmano, and Qi Cao, “An Evaluation of the Policy on Community Health Organizations in China: Will the Priority of New Healthcare Reform in China be a Success?” Health Policy, Vol. 99, No. 1, 2011, pp. 37–43.
Xu, Xin, and Rongrong Lu, Baoli yu buxinren: zhuanxing Zhongguo de yiliao baoli yanjiu: 2000–2006 (Violence and Mistrust: Research on Violence in Medical Treatment in Transforming China [2000–2006]). Fazhi yu shehui fazhan (Law and Social Development), No. 1, 2008, pp. 82–101.
Yang, Lianping, Chaojie Liu, J. Adamm Ferrier, Wei Zhou, and Xinping Zhang, “The Impact of the National Medicines Policy on Prescribing Behaviours in Primary Care Facilities in Hubei Province of China,” Health Policy Plan, Vol. 28, No. 7, 2013, pp. 750–760.
Zhang, Xinqing, and Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner, “Tensions between Medical Professionals and Patients in Mainland China,” Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Vol. 20, No. 3, 2011, pp. 458–465.
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Milcent, C. (2018). Introduction. In: Healthcare Reform in China. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69736-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69736-9_1
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