Physician-Patient-Relationship-in-China

Physician-PatientRelationshipinChina(SchoolofEconomics,SDU,FinancialMathematics＆FinancialEngineering,201500090088,XiongYuanCynthiaSong)【Abstracts】China'sdoctorsareincrisis.Inrecentyears,theyhavefacedincreasingthreatstotheirpersonalsafetyatwork.Doctorshavebeenabused,injured,andevenmurderedbypatientsorrelativesofpatientsinhospitalsandclinicsacrossthecountry.Therelationshipbetweendoctorsandpatientsoncecouldbethemostharmonyandintimaterelationshipinoursociety.Butthesituationissoworryingandurgentthatitiscollapsing.Thenumberofdoctorsisdecreasing.Wecan’timagineasocietywithoutdoctors,soweneedtoact,todosomethingforthedestroyedphysician-patientrelationshipinourcountry.【KeyWords】physician-patientrelationship;conflict;trust;crisisINTRODUCTIONThephysician-patientrelationshipissoimportantbecausewealltakeourlifeseriously.Apatientmusthaveconfidenceinthecompetenceoftheirphysicianandmustfeelthattheycanconfideinhimorher[1],whichisthepremiseofagoodrelationship.Inthelasttenyears,inChina,therearemoreandmoreconflictsbetweenphysiciansandpatients.Itseemstobecommoncasesthatthedoctorsmaybetreatwithviolencebytheirpatients.Whendoctorssitinfrontoftheirpatient,theyhavetowarnthemselvesthattheymightbefacedwiththeirfutureenemywhocouldthreatentheirlife.Theproblemissourgentthatwemustthinkaboutthefutureofthephysician-patientrelationshipandthemethodtoimprovethat.1.SITUATIONInrecentyears,manyconflictsbetweenphysiciansandpatientshavebrokenout.AccordingtoarecentsurveyofChineseHospitalAssociation,eachhospitalinChinahasmorethan27casesofhurtingdoctorsperyear.China'sdoctorsareincrisis.Theyhavefacedincreasingthreatstotheirpersonalsafetyatwork.Doctorshavebeenabused,injured,andevenmurderedbypatientsorrelativesofpatientsinhospitalsandclinicsacrossthecountry.[2]ThelatesttragiccaseoccurredonMay5thisyear.AChiefPhysicianofstomatologyinGuangdongGeneralHospitalismurderedbyoneofhispatients25yearsago,whichgreatlyastonishingthemedicalcircle,eventhewholesociety.Thedoctoris60yearsago.Hehasdevotedallhislifetosavingpeople’slife.Heissohonorableandatleasthedeservesanoldageinpeace.However,hedies,fornoreasons.Fromthiscase,wecanseeclearlyhownervoustherelationshipbetweenphysiciansandpatientsis,andhowdangeroustobeadoctorinChina.Sincethat,thenumberofteenagerswhowanttobedoctorsdecreasesobviouslyanddoctorsdon’twanttheiroffspringtobecomedoctortoo,Thenewgenerationofdoctorsfeellostthattheydonotknowwhethertocontinuetostudymedicineornot,andhowtofacethecomplexanduneasyrelationshipwiththeirpatients.2.REASONSAsthemedicaltechnologyincreasinglydeveloping,whydoesthephysician-patientrelationshipbecomesoweakandhorrible?Whydotheyneitherbelievenorunderstandeachother?First,manyChinesepatientsbelievethatdoctorsandhospitalsconspiretoincreasechargesbyprovidingunnecessaryexaminations,investigations,andtreatments.Additionally,somedoctorsacceptredenvelopes(amonetarygiftinexchangeforfavorableservice)againsttherules.Manypatientsblamethedeteriorationoftheirhealthdirectlyondoctors,claimingthatdoctorslackdevotionandskills.TheChinesemediacertainlyhaveanimportantroleinprovokingtensionbetweendoctorsandpatients.Thereisdisproportionatecoverageinnewspapers,television,andontheinternetofhowhealthprofessionalshavecheatedpatients.[3]Second,aftereconomicreforms,thehospitalsnowreceiveverylimitedfinancialsupportfromthegovernment,withtheresultthathospitalsmustgenerateincometocovercosts.Asthemainsourceofhospitals'incomeisfromdiagnosticsandtreatment,thereisafinancialincentivetoover-investigateandover-treat.InNovember,2009,oneofChina'smostauthoritativemediaoutlets,CCTV,reportedthattherenownedPekingUniversityFirstHospitalwascarryingoutillegalmedicalpracticesbyallowingmedicalstudentstodosurgicalprocedures,andasaresultapatienthaddied.EventhoughthehospitalandtheMinistryofHealthmadeitclearthatinvolvingmedicalstudentsinclinicalproceduresincludingsurgeryunderthesupervisionoflicenseddoctorsislegal,trustindoctorsandhospitalswasseriouslydamaged.3.SOLUTIONSRespondingtothiscrisis,theChineseGovernmentannouncedthatitisincreasingpolicevigilanceinsidehospitals.Peoplewhodisruptthedailyoperationofhospitals,carrydangerousmaterials,orthreatenmedicalstaffwillbeheldlegallyaccountable,accordingtoajointstatementbytheMinistryofHealthandtheMinistryofPublicSecurity.Althoughturninghospitalsintohigh-securityinstitutionsmaybeanecessarystep,itisashort-termsolutiontothisdisturbinganddesperatesituation.Butinthelongrun,weneedmoresolidandspecificsolutions.First,investmentinhealthresourcesshouldbeincreased.AccordingtotheMinistryofPublicHealth,China,with20%oftheworld'spopulation,hasahealthexpenditurethataccountsforonly3%oftheworld'stotal.Aftertheeconomicreformsof1985,theChineseGovernmentcontributedverylimitedfinancestohealth.Therewereveryfewmedicaldisputesbefore1985becausemosthospitalsenjoyedfullgovernmentfunding.[4]Second,thehealthliteracyofChineseadultsshouldbeimproved.Thepoorpublicunderstandingofmedicinecouldbeanimportantfactorincommunicationbarriersbetweendoctorsandpatients.Third,theprofessionalethicsofdoctorsshouldbestrengthened.AccordingtoYinDakui,Dire