Planned reforms will separate hospital and doctor income in China from pharmaceutical sales, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Sun Zhigang, vice minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. “We must eradicate the reliance on drug sales,” Sun said, adding that the government would offer hospitals more assistance to separate doctor incomes from pharmaceutical sales and that new payment systems would base salaries on performance and skill, rather than the number of prescriptions sold. Hospitals in China currently rely on drug sales to provide nearly 80% of revenue, according to consultancy Bain & Co., leading to over-prescription and widespread mistrust of the medical system.
China Economic Review