The privatisation of professional knowledge in the public health care sector in China

Abstract

This paper begins with a review of the Chinese government’s reforms on the personnel system in the public health care sector since 1978. These policies were designed to give greater economic autonomy to the public health facilities and public doctors in order to stimulate productivity, but failed to satisfy the medical workers. As public employees whose professional knowledge and skills have long been considered as public property, Chinese doctors have been engaged in ‘unofficial conduct’ to increase income. This ‘conduct’ – which includes taking ‘red packets’, ‘drug kickbacks’ and ‘moonlighting’ – is argued to be an unofficial form of the privatisation of professional knowledge and skills.

Key Words:

• professional knowledge
• privatisation
• Chinese doctors
• health care sector
• sociology