Senior Health Official opens hospitals to foreign investment
Shanghai (AsiaNews) Vice-Minister of Health, Zhu Qhingsheng, declared that the government is encouraging diverse forms of hospital ownership to ease the financial crisis in the wake of the SARS outbreak last year, and the bird-flu scare recently. Private and overseas investment in hospitals is to be welcomed, especially in rural areas.
Complete ownership of hospitals by domestic investors has been allowed since 2003, with overseas investors controlling stakes of up to 70 percent. By 2010, Shanghai looks to become a "first-class Asian medical center", with the local government already incorporating reforms that have not been tested in other parts of the country.
Experimenting with this new license, Shanghai's Nanxiang Hospital recently said it had pursued Taiwan's United-Shin Healthcare Enterprise as a possible management partner, though the deal stopped short of funding. A hospital official, who declined to be named, said that it was the first such agreement involving a district-level hospital. Owned by the northern district of Jiading, the hospital intended to exchange personnel with the Taiwanese partner, and explore other reforms.
"Our final target is to become a private hospital" he said, mentioning that it would reduce the state's involvement while looking for outside investors to build a new facility.
A rise in demand for plastic surgery has led to an increase in privately funded clinics, with the government having to close down unlicensed cosmetic surgery centers after reports of botched operations, local media disclosed.
With the increase of overseas-funded clinics, some Shanghai hospitals have joined the competition, establishing special sections for foreign patients willing to pay more for services.
The opportunity for partnership has also made it easier for Hong Kong doctors and dentists to work on the mainland, creating a labor source for Hong Kong-funded institutions.
Most of the 450 hospitals in Shanghai are owned by the government, but with sharply reduced funding, other sources of revenue must be found by the facilities. This has led to abuses such as hospitals depending on pharmaceautical sales for income.
China's Ministry of Health is one of the least powerful and worst funded ministries in the mainland. According to the World Heath report, China has one of the worst health care system ranking as the 189th among 191 nations.
.png)
19/11/2004
