Beijing residents panic as price of hospital visits rises
28-Jun-17, Sixth Tone
When the news spread that health care reform would quintuple the cost of seeing a doctor, many Beijing residents rushed to local hospitals to stock up on prescriptions.
%20Sixth%20Tone.jpg "Beijing residents panic as price of hospital visits rises (c) Sixth Tone")
Image: Sixth Tone
“Panic spread among elderly patients,” said Chen Xinhua, a retiree in the Dongcheng District. She said some of her friends had almost a whole year of medications prescribed before the new service charge kicked in on 8 April 2017.
The new doctor’s appointment fee in Beijing coincides with reform that abolishes the 15 percent markup on drugs sold in public hospitals. Together, the policies aim to nudge public hospitals away from relying on revenue from drug sales, which is linked to overprescription and even bribery. The service charge is also intended to address overcrowding at top hospitals.