A revised regulation on medical accident settlements, which will
come into force on September 1, is expected to be a more
intermediary way of solving disputes between hospitals and
patients, officials and experts said Thursday.
The new-look regulation, issued by the
State Council recently, follows a fairer assessment procedure
compared with the current one, which took effect in 1987, said Sun
Longchun at a symposium discussing the regulation.
Sun is the deputy director of the Subcommittee of Science Education
Culture Health and Sports of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference.
The new regulation states that the assessment of medical accidents
will be completed by experts organized by the Chinese Medical
Association and its branches at various levels, which are
non-governmental organizations.
According to the present regulation, the assessment is taken by
organizations appointed by health authorities.
However, in China, health authorities are authorized to supervise
and manage hospitals -- most of which are state-owned -- so the
impartiality of assessments has been rightfully questioned.
In
recent years, the number of medical disputes has constantly
increased, and the improper settlements of disputes according to
the present regulation has stirred widespread dissatisfaction in
society, said Yin Dakui, vice-minister of the Ministry of
Health.
The dissatisfaction has also greatly ruined the relationship
between hospitals and patients, Yin said.
Official statistics show, last year, hospitals at and above county
level in China paid 4.2 billion yuan (US$506 million) for medical
disputes, and dozens of doctors have been reportedly beaten by
unhappy relatives of patients in the country.
Some doctors have begun to refuse to do high-risk operations for
fear of medical accidents and, in turn, a dispute, which results in
patients not receiving the most effective and timely treatment.
To
date, medical disputes are not often properly settled as the
national regulation cannot protect both sides' interests, said
Zheng Xueqian, a lawyer from the Chinese Hospital Management
Association, which sponsored the symposium.
To
better protect patients' legal rights, the new regulation also
states patients can directly appeal to judicial bodies if they
think a medical accident has occurred. The present regulation notes
that only after a case has been decided as a medical accident can
patients appeal to court.
The new regulation has given equal attention to protecting doctors'
legal rights, stating all medical disputes must be settled through
legal channels.
(China
Daily April 19, 2002)