Doctors, dentists find private path healthier in China
27-Jul-15, Shanghai Daily
Increasing numbers of Shanghai’s more experienced doctors and dentists are leaving the city’s public hospitals to set up private group practices.
It’s a new trend. In the past, doctors who left public hospitals usually moved on to private hospitals, seeking better work conditions and higher pay.
Image: Shanghai Daily
Dr Ji Guoping, a leading dentist at Shanghai No. 9 People’s Hospital, recently quit to open a private dental clinic. “Dentists are the first batch leaving public hospitals,” said Ji. “That’s because it’s relatively inexpensive to set up a private dental practice. All you really need is a dental chair, a nurse and some equipment.”
“We got to a stage in our careers when we wanted to enjoy more personal doctor-patient relationships and provide better care,” he said. “That isn’t possible in public hospitals. What we left is a noisy and crowded environment, low income, excessive workloads, bad patient-doctor relationships and a ridiculous evaluation system based on how much we got published in medical journals.”