Public perceptions of private health care in socialist China.
We present the findings of a United Nations Development Programme-World Health Organization study commissioned by China's Ministry of Health on use of public and private ambulatory care services in three Chinese provinces. We found much unmet medical need (16 percent), attributed mainly to the perceived high cost of care. Seventy-one percent had no health insurance (90 percent in rural and 51 percent in urban areas). For 33 percent, the last consultation was with a private practitioner. Widespread dissatisfaction with public providers (mainly high user fees and poor staff attitudes) is driving patients to seek cheaper but lower-quality care from poorly regulated private providers.
Lim
Meng-Kin
MK
Department of Community, Occupational, and Family Medicine, National University of Singapore, Republic of Singapore. coflimmk@nus.edu.sg
Yang
Hui
H
Zhang
Tuohong
T
Feng
Wen
W
Zhou
Zijun
Z
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017149:Private Sector; D011639:Public Opinion