A revised regulation on medical accident settlements, which will come into force on September 1, is expected to be a more intermediary way of solving disputes between hospitals and patients, officials and experts said Thursday.

The new-look regulation, issued by the State Council recently, follows a fairer assessment procedure compared with the current one, which took effect in 1987, said Sun Longchun at a symposium discussing the regulation.

Sun is the deputy director of the Subcommittee of Science Education Culture Health and Sports of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The new regulation states that the assessment of medical accidents will be completed by experts organized by the Chinese Medical Association and its branches at various levels, which are non-governmental organizations.

According to the present regulation, the assessment is taken by organizations appointed by health authorities.

However, in China, health authorities are authorized to supervise and manage hospitals -- most of which are state-owned -- so the impartiality of assessments has been rightfully questioned.

In recent years, the number of medical disputes has constantly increased, and the improper settlements of disputes according to the present regulation has stirred widespread dissatisfaction in society, said Yin Dakui, vice-minister of the Ministry of Health.

The dissatisfaction has also greatly ruined the relationship between hospitals and patients, Yin said.

Official statistics show, last year, hospitals at and above county level in China paid 4.2 billion yuan (US$506 million) for medical disputes, and dozens of doctors have been reportedly beaten by unhappy relatives of patients in the country.

Some doctors have begun to refuse to do high-risk operations for fear of medical accidents and, in turn, a dispute, which results in patients not receiving the most effective and timely treatment.

To date, medical disputes are not often properly settled as the national regulation cannot protect both sides' interests, said Zheng Xueqian, a lawyer from the Chinese Hospital Management Association, which sponsored the symposium.

To better protect patients' legal rights, the new regulation also states patients can directly appeal to judicial bodies if they think a medical accident has occurred. The present regulation notes that only after a case has been decided as a medical accident can patients appeal to court.

The new regulation has given equal attention to protecting doctors' legal rights, stating all medical disputes must be settled through legal channels.

(China Daily April 19, 2002)