Doctors in Shanhai?local hospitals are calling the
authorities to issue surgery agreements in English for patients
from outside China.
Currently, local health authorities only require doctors to
present a Chinese surgery agreement to the patient and family
members to inform them of the surgery procedure and possible side
effects.
Doctors either have to translate the document themselves or
explain the content verbally to foreign patients before it is
signed.
Dr Zhou Daxin, of Zhongshan Hospital's cardiology department,
said with an increasing number of expatriate patients in local
hospitals, a legal surgery agreement in English was needed to speed
up the medical process.
He said the authorities only required hospitals to have the
patient or family member sign a Chinese agreement and each hospital
had its own Chinese version and most didn't have an English
version. He said both the Chinese and English versions should be in
a standard format.
Officials from Shanghai Health Bureau said informing the patient
and the family on the surgery and any complications was the
hospital's responsibility and a signed agreement was essential
before every operation.
"There is no rule that requires a special format of surgery
agreement or an English version for foreign patients," said Song
Guofan, an official at Shanghai Health Bureau.
Local large hospitals, which expatriate patients usually visit,
have come up with a solution.
"All foreign patients in our hospital are transferred to the
same department, which provides an English surgery agreement which
is translated from Chinese version," said Li Nan, an official from
Ruijin Hospital.
For hospitals which don't have an English surgery agreement,
their doctors will explain the surgery agreement in English.
"If our foreign patients come with a Chinese family member, we
always have the Chinese people sign the surgery agreement," said
Xia Lin, from Shanghai Children's Medical Center.
(Shanghai Daily December 24, 2007)
