Military hospitals in China: unaccountable and a law to themselves

by Michael Woodhead
It comes as a surprise to many visitors to China to discover that the swish medical facility in the middle of town is called something like the People's Liberation Army 301 Hospital. 

Military hospitals are a major feature of China's healthcare system - most cities have a major hospital run by the military, whether it be the army, navy or airforce. But don't expect to see them staffed by China's answer to Hawkeye or Major Burns. They are, for all intents and purposes, little different to other hospitals in appearance. No uniforms in evidence, they seem to be just state-owned profit-driven operations, like any other Chinese hospital.

However, according to an article by Zhao Han in Caixin this week, the military hospitals are a law unto themselves. The reporter relates the case of a bogus doctor working in Beijing who stole the identity of a real Shanghai doctor. When the Shanghai doctor discovered this, she demanded that the fake doctor return her identity documents and records. However, when reporters made further inquiries, they hit a brick wall of military secrecy because the fake doctor had been working at a clinic affiliated with the military PLA 466 Hospital.

When the matter was taken up with the authorities, they also got short shrift from the army hospital:

"The health bureau that oversees medical facilities in Haidian District, where Beijing No. 466 Hospital is located, said it does not have the authority to supervise military-affiliated hospitals.
Calls to the health division of the People's Liberation Army's General Logistics Department were not answered," Caixin reports.

This case illustrates a common observation about military hospitals in China - they are effectively beyond the control of the health department. What this means for China's health reforms - and the supposed development of private hospitals in the country - remains to be seen.How will the military react to the unpopular proposals to deregulate hospitals and reduce  profit-linked overservicing practices? Will they also support the move to primary care by allowing doctors to work in the community and accepting new referral networks (and thus losing revenue?) I doubt it.

And as we have recently seen with illegal organ transplantation, the military hospitals network is also protected from action against unethical practices. How the military hospitals are treated will be a true test of whether Xi Jinping is serious about health reforms and rule of law in China.

PLA leads the way on telemedicine in China

Medical experts of the General Hospital of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held a joint consultation with the medical workers on the “Peace Ark” hospital ship of the PLA Navy, which is on the mission of treating typhoon victims in the Philippines, and offered diagnosis and treatment plans for victims via a telemedicine system on December 6, 2013.
The success of the joint consultation marks that the PLA has had the capability of holding ultra-long-distance medical consultations overseas and long-distance medical consultations during maritime mobile operations, an expert said. The PLA General Hospital is China’s first hospital to offer telemedicine service.

Army general is new president of the Chinese Medical Association

New CMA president General Zhang Yan Ling says he will try to rebuild doctor-patient trust

by Michael Woodhead
A military physician, PLA general Zhang Yan Ling, has been elected as president of the Chinese Medical Association.
General Zhang, who was previously vice president of the CMA, is well know for his work in the front line of fighting the SARs outbreak in China in 2003.
A native of Hebei Province, Zhang Yan Ling was  born in 1952, joined the army in 1970,  became a Party member in 1973 and in 1978 graduated from the Xi'an Fourth Military Medical University. Since then he has worked as a military physician and medical educator.  During the SARS outbreak of April, 2003 he was appointed by the Central Military Commission as director of the Xiaotangshan "SARS" emergency hospital, where he worked round the clock to help contain the outbreak.
He has also been director of medical education at the National Defense University, vice minister in the PLA General Logistics Department of the Ministry of Health and in 2006 he was appointed president of Second Military Medical University. In July 2005 he was promoted to the rank of major general and in 2008 he was appointed Minister of General Logistics Department of Health.
Founded ten years ago, the Chinese Medical Association was  has developed into 39 local associations and 51 secondary specialised branches for physicians, surgeons and other specialists. President Zhang  says he hopes the CMA will bring together government departments and people from all walks of life and act as a bridge to feedback grassroots opinion for physicians. He wants the CMA to gain cooperation of the media to  fully reflect the feelings and aspirations of the majority of physicians, and the advances being made by healthcare He says he wants strong policy support for learning, and work-life balance for physicians, a positive atmosphere of public opinion and a good social environment.
　　He also said he will also resolutely resist the adverse social atmosphere against doctors and hospitals and hopes to win widespread social respect and trust for doctors in China, and he will strive to build a harmonious relationship between doctors and patients, and shaping a good image of the health industry. He says the CMA will strive to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of doctors, in particular, the effective protection of human dignity and personal safety of doctors in practice through maintenance of normal medical order.
　　Zhang Yan Ling said the CMA also needs to vigorously promote the standardisation of residency training, medical humanities training and legal regulations training in the clinical use of drugs. Doctors also need to continuously improve scientific management and there needs to be in-depth implementation of the code of conduct for medical institutions, improved physician practice qualifications and specialist technology access.
Source: CMT