Beijing’s medical system now works a little bit differently. As of Saturday, hospital services and the sale of drugs will now separated. So what does this mean for patients?
The new system will presumably make drug prices cheaper and hospital services more expensive, China Daily reports. However, the total cost of visiting a doctor should remain roughly the same as before.
The city is hoping the new system will help to make hospital services better for patients and stop hospitals from profiting off of drug sales. Because the income at Beijing’s public hospitals primarily comes from selling drugs and ordering pricey tests, many doctors prescribe too many prescriptions and order too many expensive (and often unnecessary) tests.
These changes will hopefully stop this trend.
"Separating treatment and drug sales will stop over-prescription and help medical practitioners provide better treatment," said Fang Laiying, head of the Beijing City Health and Family Planning Commission.
Beijing authorities are working to make changes to service fees (see above) and cut drug prices by up to 20 percent. Roughly 435 drug services in 3,600 facilities in Beijing will be impacted by these changes.
On Saturday, 2,605 Beijing hospitals were put onto the new system.
[Image via CRI Online]
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